ALBION
by Brainlock
Summary: The Doctor gets talked into a favor by Jack and strands them on a parallel world and must stop a mysterious enemy with a very familiar face. F!Doctor/TW. Jackson Lake. Rated M 4 lang/MM scenes, Gwys & Jack!
1. Reflection

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 1 - Reflection

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik. Torchwood created by Russell T. Davis.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, OCs+

* * *

"BLIMEY!" the man grunted, coming to and wondering why he was on the floor. Disoriented, he looked around, only to see the last face he wanted to at the moment. "You? Is this your fault?"

Jack Harkness smiled as he knelt down to help the man up. "Morning, Sunshine," he replied. "How are you feeling after-well, what just happened?"

"It's hard to breathe," he replied, then felt a twinge as if he had been hit. No, as if something had popped off of him. A faint clink against metal confirmed this a second later.

"Oi! Watch where you're firing those things!" came a female voice. He tried to sit up to see who it was only to have another button fly off. "Hey!" she yelled again.

He tried to focus on her. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her name. The chap trying to stifle a chuckle at her side was new to him, wasn't he?

"Do I know you lot?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Jack, is this normal?" she asked the man kneeling by him.

"I'm not entirely sure, Gwen," he replied, helping the man to his feet. "This is only the second time I've seen him do this. Well, technically third, but that one time didn't count."

"Second time I've done what?" he grunted, rubbing his head, then realizing his suit was very constrictive, as if he had suddenly grown. He rather hoped it had shrunk instead, as it was feeling very restrictive in more areas than one.

"Doctor, are you feeling yourself yet?" Jack asked.

"Who, me?" the man asked, blinking in confusion. "What am I a doctor of?"

"Jack, what's going on?" the other man asked. "You said he would be fine in a few minutes, but he has no clue, does he?"

Jack sighed. "Again, Rhys, I've only seen this once before and he was fine after a few minutes," he explained. "I guess it's different every time?"

"What's different? What happened to me?" he asked, shaking off the lingering confusion. "Who am I?"

Jack's face grew concerned. "You're the Doctor."

"Of what?" he repeated, annoyed. He looked over the various controls of the machine in front of him. He was tempted to start adjusting them.

"You're a Time Lord. The last of the Time Lords, in fact," Jack explained. "You're the master of time and space."

"Master?" he looked up and turned the word over in his mouth. It seemed familiar, somehow. Almost intimately. "Do I know a Master?"

Jack nervously glanced to his friends. "Yeah, unfortunately. He's not exactly your best friend."

The Doctor looked Jack in the eye. "Are you sure about that?" he countered, vaguely remembering an ancient face.

Jack's eyes went wide in fear. "Look, why don't you lie down a moment, get your bearings?" He motioned behind the Doctor to the divan he kept in the TARDIS control room.

As he bent to sit, there was an audible _RIP! _Of material.

Everyone stopped and stared at him. The next thing he knew, the trio bust our laughing.

"Shut it, the lot of you!" he growled in his newly deep voice. "You've never seen a man rip his pants before?"

"At least it wasn't another button missile," Gwen cracked.

Jack offered him a hand back up. "Come on, let's try and find the wardrobe, see if you have anything that will fit you now. The last couple faces I've seen, have been a bit more...trim," he tactfully explained.

"Was I? Why would it?" he asked. Then realized it might explain the constrictive clothes and over-tight shoes.

"Well, come on, Doc," he opened the interior door for the confused man. "You do know where the wardrobe is, right?"

The Doctor glanced down the hall. "Sure, it's right down there...I think. Somewhere near the swimming pool, I believe?" he wondered as he marched off.

Half an hour of trying different doors in various corridors proved useless. The Doctor had long since kicked off his now too small shoes and waltzed the halls in his socks, newly widened feet plodding along. He opened another door and saw someone staring back at him he didn't recognize.

"Oi! You! Where are we?" he called out. Then he realized he was looking in a mirror as the interior light finally kicked on with his entrance. He slowly walked up to it, examining the pudgy, rubbery face before him. He seemed to recall being younger in appearance. Not so this time. It was...experienced. Not quite old, but past the obvious prime of youth. He poked and prodded a face that was broad, with thick eyebrows, puggish nose, full cheeks, and cobalt blue eyes. His body showed his age as well, having broad, strong shoulders over a healthy belly. At least this body seemed to be stronger than what he vaguely remembered as he began to shed his restrictive clothes and felt his thick arms. He chuckled as he ran his hands through the mat of orange chest hair.

It was only then he realized what he had been missing. "Bloody hell! It's about time!" he laughed, running his fingers through the long, loose ginger hair on his head with a hint of curl in it. It was just long enough to be in need of a decent trim when mussed, but looked presentable when he brushed it back. He noticed his ears were a bit largish, almost too large, he mused. "Not too bad. Slightly thinning. Probably a bald spot in back, too," he groused.

"_Doctor_!" Jack shouted, bursting in the room. "What's wrong?" he panted.

"Wrong? _Wrong_?" he asked in return. "Nothing! There's absolutely nothing bloody wrong this time!" he laughed. "Well, maybe a bit younger, but what can you do, eh?"

Jack walked up behind the half-clothed man admiring his new physique in the mirror. "Looks good to me," he said slyly.

The Doctor turned and smiled at his immortal friend. "You'd love a bit of this, wouldn't you, Jack?" he teased.

Jack grinned in response, but suddenly found himself being kissed hard by the burly man. He broke the kiss and slapped Jack's cheek, then grinned, "Keep dreaming, Harkness."

"You love it," Jack replied. He then glanced down and smirked. "You really loved it."

"Hm?" the Doctor asked and looked down to see what Jack was looking at. "Oh! Well, would you look at that?" he chuckled as he realized the seams of his pants were now straining for a different reason.

"I already am," Jack purred, licking his lips.

The Doctor looked back up at Jack. "Down boy. I need to find some new clothes, first." He strolled through the racks, glancing among the various accoutrements. Most of them were obviously tailored for slimmer men than his beefy frame.

"Do you need any help in there?" Jack called out.

"I don't need advice from some lothario who stopped changing his clothes decades earlier than the period he's currently hanging about in, Jack!"

"Oh come _on_!" Jack groaned. "This look is classic!"

"It's _antique_!" he countered as he flipped through another section. "Didn't I know or have _any _friends who were the least bit overweight?" he grumbled.

Jack entered the aisle the Doctor was going through and leaned on the rack, admiring his friend's new countenance. "You're not overweight," Jack informed him. "You're...well-fed, beefy, burly, husky, robust, furry-"

"Thick?" he groused.

"Woofilicious?" he grinned.

The Doctor frowned. "Is that even a word?"

"It is in some circles," he teased, admiring the backside of the now-hefty Time Lord.

"A-_HA_!" the man exclaimed, pulling out a frumpy, brown suit with a tweed jacket.

"What is it with you and brown?" Jack inquired, noting the similar fashion to his own garb. "Look at all these clothes," he waved his arms to indicate the hundreds of outfits present, "yet you keep choosing such a drab color to wear. Why is that?"

"It shows I'm grounded," the man exclaimed as he shed the rest of his seam-strained clothing, much to Jack's delight.

"Need any help with that?" Jack inquired as he watched the Doctor hopping on one foot, trying to pull his leg free from his trouser leg.

"Not hardly!" he shouted. "I've got-_whoop_!"

Jack caught him under his arms as he fell back. He grinned down into the frustrated man's face. "Nice one," he quipped and hoisted the man back onto his feet. The Doctor fumed as Jack knelt down and grabbed the trousers. The Doctor rolled his eyes, grasped one clothing rack for balance, and pulled his trapped leg up, allowing Jack to pull the pant leg free. Something clattered to the floor, skittering under the rack of clothing.

"What was that?" the Time Lord asked.

Jack bent and looked under the rack. "Looks long and round," he salaciously replied as he reached for it.

The now mostly naked Time Lord knelt down beside him to look for himself. Jack held up the sonic screwdriver to the man. "Look familiar?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jack and took the device, examining it. "Not really," he replied and hit the thumbswitch. The blue buzzing light filled his sight. He fell back, flat on the floor.

"_Doctor_!" Jack exclaimed, jumping over his body to the man's head. He felt for one of the man's hearts for a beat. The redhead's bright blue eyes suddenly popped open, looked around as he tried to gather his senses, then focused on Jack. "You alright? You worried me there for a second."

"Do I look worried to you?" he replied.

Jack stayed where he was for a moment, hand resting over a heart, unsure if the Doctor had hurt himself or not. _Shortest regeneration ever_, he mused to himself. That rumination was cut short as the Doctor suddenly grabbed his head and kissed him again. Jack kissed him back and clenched his hand on the man's beefy pectoral before the Doctor broke free and pushed Jack off of him.

"What was that for?" Jack laughed.

"You were cramping my style," he replied gruffly, picking himself off the floor.

Jack remained kneeling at the man's feet, grinning at what lay on the other side of the thin cloth in front of him. "That answers _that_ question," he muttered to himself as the Doctor grabbed his new trousers and fluffed them in Jack's face before stepping into them. Jack grabbed the sonic screwdriver off the floor again and held one end to his lips, seductively.

"What question is that, Jack?" he asked as he pulled up the new pants.

Jack leered as the Doctor grabbed his new shirt. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He regarded the Time Agent coolly as he buttoned the shirt, tucked it in his pants and slipped his suspenders over his shoulders before grabbing the matching brown vest.

"That look does look good on you," Jack noted, finally rising to his feet as the Doctor zipped up and grabbed his new jacket.

"It's probably the only outfit in here that fits, Jack," he growled, as he flexed his arms, making sure the patched elbows were in good condition. "Soon as we can, we hit the shops and get me something nicer. Maybe a Sharpei wool blend or Mariposian silk? Always been a fan of this seamstress on Barcelona-"

Jack gave him a confused look. "You don't remember where we are, do you?"

"Right now, everything before I woke up is pretty much a blank," he informed his friend. He glanced around. "Shoes. I need shoes." He marched off to another area of the room.

Jack followed and saw the man had found a smaller mirror with various neckerchiefs surrounding it. "What do you think? Long tie, cravat, or something else?" he asked as he began holding up one accessory after the other.

Jack inspected the chiffarobe and pulled out a long mass of multi-colored knitted wool. "What...is this?"

The Doctor gave him an offended look. "That, my dear boy, is _Classic_." He then draped it around his shoulders. Several times. He frowned. "But it doesn't go with this."

"To say the least," Jack teased and grabbed a couple bow ties as the Doctor hung up his multi-hued scarf of near-infinite length. "Try these," Jack offered.

"Too much brown."

"Black doesn't go with _every_thing."

"Electric Blue? Please, Jack." Eyes rolled.

"It brought out your eyes. Yellow?" Frown.

"Red?" They paused. "Maybe a rose or wine?"

"Bingo," he said, admiring the simple wine colored bow on his throat. "Now, shoes and a coat."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Why do you insist on a coat?"

"For the same reason you do, Jack," he chided. "To carry things in."

"I think I look more dashing," he teased.

"Where do you think you got that idea," the Time Lord teased.

Jack stopped and stared after the man. A vague memory of a day long since passed (for both of them) came to mind. "what?"

"What's the weather like outside, Jack?" he asked, perusing another closet full of various shoe styles. He hoped he had something a bit wider than those he kept in front as he held one shoe to his foot for comparison.

"Actually, it's a bit muddy, as there aren't too many roads where we're at," Jack replied.

"Boots will do for now," the man said and grabbed a pair of large black boots with a turned top cuff. He sat on the stool and slipped them on, tucking his pant legs inside. The boot cuff strained at the thickness of his calves. "Fit like a glove!" he exclaimed, then immediately rose and strode to another section full of overcoats.

Jack perused through the selection, more for himself than the Doctor.

"Ah! Here we go!" he exclaimed, pulling out an oversized duster of brown leather and slipped it on. "How do I look, Jack?" he asked, preening in yet another mirror.

"Like you're going fishing in the American Old West, Professor Pirate," Jack chuckled. "Sure you don't want a hat to finish it off?"

The Doctor charged off to yet another corner, this one piled with hats. "Straw? No. Floppy? No. Derby? No. Hunting? No. Pith helmet?"

"Doc, if you're done?" Jack interrupted, trying not to laugh as the man went through the stacks of hats. "I'm sure William has long since lost patience waiting on us."

The Doctor turned and popped a top hat at his friend. "William?" he asked. "The burly bloke the lady was hanging on?"

"No, the Crown Prince of Albion," Jack reminded him. "The First King of the Third Millennium? He helped Rhys and I drag your dying self back into the TARDIS before you regenerated?"

The Doctor stared at him a moment. "Oi! Ginger King Will?" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you say so?" he chided and ran toward the door, Jack grabbing the deerstalker cap off his head as he went.

At the door, he suddenly stopped. "The Ginger King, the fat man, and you were the last to touch me before I regenerated?" he asked. "What about the girl?"

"Except for Gwen, the four of us carried you back. Why?"

The Doctor held out his arms. "Look at me! I'm ginger, I'm fat, and for some reason, I've kissed you three times just in this room already!" he exclaimed. "You don't find that odd?"

Jack looked at him, in confusion. "Three? Are you counting that time I-"

The Doctor kissed him again, pinning Jack back against the wall for a long moment. "Three," he grunted, lustily.

A breathless Jack had to admit he might have a point as he tried to pull the Doctor closer. "Maybe once your regeneration settles in, you won't be so snogging impulsive?" he suggested, but hoped it wasn't so as the man broke free of his embrace. "Or impulsively snogging?"

The Doctor smiled and backed out of the room, turning and heading back the way they had come. "So where was he?"

"Who?"

"Prince William. Where was he?" he repeated. "I don't recall seeing him in the control room when I woke up."

"Standing guard outside with Markham, making sure no one came in," Jack told him.

"Why? Where did I park this time?" he asked.

"Oh, just smack dab in the middle of his castle's hunting forest," Jack replied. "Hence all the mud."

"Windsor Castle has a hunting preserve?"

"Not quite," Jack answered. "Seems we're in a slightly different reality than the one we remember. It's _Wyndham_ Castle, here."

"Really?" he asked, plodding along as he neared the control room. When he realized Jack didn't answer, he turned to find the man with his ear pinned to a door. "Jack?"

"Shh!" he hissed and waved him over. He was evidently listening to something in the room and a mischievous smile spread across his face.

The Doctor pressed his large ear to the door almost nose to nose with Jack. The sounds coming from the room were unmistakable. He pulled the door open and charged inside, ignoring Jack's protests.

Rhys and Gwen yelped in surprise at the intrusion and tried to cover themselves up with the bedding.

"Bloody hell," he exclaimed. "Can't leave you two alone for a bloody minute, can I?"

Jack stifled a guffaw (while taking full note of his friends' nudity) as Rhys fumbled an explanation, while Gwen merely tried to hide under her husband.

"You know, this bedroom was reserved for Very Important Guests Only, I'll have you know!" the Doctor explained. He fought the sudden, passing impulse to join them both. _Damn you, Jack_, he cursed to himself.

"Sorry! Sorry! So very sorry!" Rhys mumbled as he tried to keep his wife covered while reaching for their clothes. Jack stepped over and handed the embarrassed man his jeans off the floor. He shot Jack a dirty look of warning.

"If you aren't dressed and in the control room in two minutes, I'm locking the lot of you up in here!" he exclaimed before turning and heading out the door.

Jack smiled and looked at the couple. He wiggled an eyebrow.

"_OUT!_" Gwen screamed. Jack followed the Doctor, chuckling.

When the pair had finally joined the two men in the control room, she tried to explain. "Sorry about that. We got bored waiting and started to look for you two, worried something might have happened to you after your, er, regeneration, was it?" She paused as Jack chuckled, throwing a glance at the Doctor, who ignored him. He stood there, arms crossed as she continued. "We found the bedroom and, well, thought we would have a quick lie down while we were waiting which turned into talking and, well-"

"We didn't mean to offend, you, honest," Rhys added.

"What about Prince William?" the Doctor asked.

The couple stared at him, confused.

"Has he been waiting for us outside all this time?"

"Oh lord, we forgot all about him!" Rhys exclaimed. He ran for the TARDIS' entry door. "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

The Doctor and Jack followed him out. Gwen rolled her eyes and gave chase. The Doctor noticed the TARDIS had landed in a small clearing along a dirt path cutting through some woods. A vaguely familiar structure could be seen in the distance.

A red-haired man with broad shoulders who appeared in his mid to late 20s leaned against a nearby tree, looking slightly bored, holding a crossbolt. A forty-ish, burly man with short, dark hair and beard and slightly muddied clothing of a simpler time stood at his side with a bayonet in one hand, another crossbolt slung across his back. He stood at attention as the quartet exited the out of place police cubicle.

"We're so sorry, Your Highness!" Rhys exclaimed as he ran up to the duo. "We forgot all about you!"

"Sire?" the bearded man asked, hand reaching for the holster on his hip with one hand as the other drew up the bayonet.

The younger man ordered him to stand down with a simple gesture. "It's alright, Will. These are our friends." He then took note of the Doctor's new appearance. "I think? Rhys, Gwen, Jack," he greeted, then nodded to the stranger, "and who is your new friend?"

"I'm the _Doctor_," he harrumphed. The prince didn't quite look like the young man he expected, he looked suspiciously more like another who once traveled with him, many years ago. There weren't very fond memories (or many at all, at the moment) of Turlough, but he recalled the man had been used as a pawn in a cosmic chess game. Maybe it was just the hair, he wondered?

The two local men exchanged a look, studying each other. "I'm sorry?" the Prince replied in confusion. "The Doctor my friends here entered that box with looked nothing like-"

Markham cut in, "Pompous, wild _eyes_-" He seemed unnerved.

The Doctor held up his hands. "Yes, yes, I know. I apparently had to regenerate due to some injury that befell me?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping the Crown Prince could fill him in. Then he turned to Markham, "_Pompous_? Wild eyes? _Me_?"

The burly man looked embarrassed and blushed slightly, shuffling the rifle behind him in a poor attempt to hide it. "My fault, I'm afraid. We were a bit on edge and didn't realize at the time you lot might be speaking true in helping to rescue him from his kidnappers, and then, well, your friend Jack, here, convinced me otherwise," he hastily explained, unsure of himself, while sharing a slightly pained glance at Harkness. "My apologies, Doctor. It _was_ an accident, honest."

The Doctor eyed the bearded man and nodded as he once again fought a passing urge to hug the two men tight as a way of showing forgiveness, especially Markham. He hoped again Jack was right and his influence on this regeneration would quickly pass. He was glad when the prince broke the awkward moment he felt was happening.

"If you please, Markham," William spoke up. "Jack said they could heal your wound inside of there, but we didn't expect...this?" he motioned to the man's new appearance. "My mother will not be pleased at such an abrupt change. Our healers could-"

"Your mother's still alive?" the Doctor blurted, confused.

Prince William was taken aback. "Of course she is! Why would you think any different, especially after-"

Jack cut him off. "I'm sorry, your Highness. Regeneration apparently leaves him a bit...off. He's still catching up a bit," he explained. "Besides, as I told you before, events seem to have transpired here somewhat different than what we remember in our time."

"Ah yes, this parallel timeline you spoke of," William replied. "We can discuss this further on the ride back to the Castle proper." He motioned to Markham, who pushed his sleeve up and tapped a few buttons on a device similar to Jack's wristband. "You can apologize to my mother in person, Doctor," he quipped.

"Oh bloody hell," the Doctor muttered, then noticed a carriage round a copse of trees of it's own volition. "Fascinating," he said in awe.

The Del Aurian carriage pulled to a stop beside the assembled group. It appeared to the group as a classically ornate styled horse-drawn carriage, with the exception that there were no horses to draw it. Markham opened the door and pulled out the steps for his liege, took the younger man's weapon, then gave him and Gwen a hand into the cab. The Doctor looked over the contraption, seeing no immediate signs of an engine. Markham merely held the door for Rhys, the two men exchanging defiant glares, before motioning to the Doctor. "Up and in, sir," he urged.

The Doctor followed the others into the cab and found it slightly roomier than he expected, even with Rhys and his own new, stockier body. However, it could still only comfortably seat four. Rhys and Gwen had cuddled up on one seat, leaving the Doctor to sit opposite with the Prince. He glanced out and saw Jack clamber up onto the perch as Markham closed the door.

Markham followed Jack up onto the front after handing him the weapons. Once there, he holstered his rifle and the two crossbolts in a top hatch. Jack watched as he pressed a code in his armband so the two control arms would telescope out of the armrests. The carriage suddenly lurched forward.

Prince William rolled his eyes. "He's always taking off too fast, lately," he apologized.

"Pardon me for asking, but where's the engine?" The Doctor inquired.

The Prince tapped the floorboard with his toe. "Fuel cells and controls underneath. The main steering controls are up front with Will and Jack, propulsion below us. Based on the technology created by a Serbian who went by the name of Nikola Tesla."

"Ah, I see," he lied before musing, "Good old Nikola, eh? Finally got his due in one universe." He would have to examine the tech further later. The remnant of an old Earth saying popped into his head, 'Science, if advanced enough, would appear as magic to the common man.' At least, he thought that was the quote. He often had to paraphrase it to newcomers in the TARDIS, usually opting for "It's bigger on the inside" line to explain the tesseract qualities.

"You know of Tesla, my friends?" the prince inquired.

"The band?" Rhys asked, only to get jabbed by Gwen.

"_Rhys!" _she hissed, then turned to their benefactor. "Only by reputation as a competitor to Edison, I'm afraid."

"He was quite the mad genius," the Doctor informed them. "Unfortunately, the poor Croatian never got the proper respect or credit he deserved in their world," he said, jerking a thumb to the couple. "The governments locked up his notebooks and inventions when he died. Took teams of scientists to decipher and reverse engineer most of his stuff. What they could of it, anyways."

"I see," the prince acknowledged. "That certainly wasn't the case here. He is widely heralded as the father of the modern technological age. He and his protégé, Einstein."

"_Protégé?_" Gwen sputtered, but the Doctor cautioned her not to say anything further with a quick motion of his hand.

"Good for him," the Doctor replied, already suspecting that was one variable they had to overcome in their present situation. "Do you think Jack minds being up front with Markham?" he asked casually, changing the subject.

The trio suppressed their shared amusement. Not sharing what had happened between the two earlier.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind," the prince assured him. "I bet he's quite enjoying the view, mind you," he said with a wink to the couple. Almost in reply, they could hear chuckles coming from the front of the cab. (Jack was attempting to get a feel of the now-protruded co-pilot controls "just in case", he quipped, one hand on his control, the other over Markham's hand on his control.) The Doctor rolled his eyes and hoped Jack wasn't being too improper, considering the stature of their host.

"Your Markham said we saved you from a kidnapping?" the Doctor asked, hoping to change the subject again.

"Yes, it's the old story of some wayward royal cousin wanting the Throne for himself," he explained, "including having a double at the ready to switch me off with before they officially hand off the Crown at my Coronation."

"So it's your father who passed in this world, then?" the Doctor asked. "Shame. I quite liked Charles. Knew he'd never ascend the throne and all, but quite an intelligent conversationalist and all," he reminisced.

"Well, someone's getting his memory back," Gwen noted. "Too bad you forgot we're not on our world."

"_My father _is alive and well," William informed him. "He just happens to be out of the country at the moment. Also, how do you know his name is not Charles?"

The Doctor blushed slightly at the mistake. "My apologies, young prince," he said, then saw they were approaching a familiar castle, even if the land around it was not the modern city he had been expecting. Just go with the flow again, he scolded himself. "I merely assumed that since you said there was a plot to replace you prior to your coronation, that your father had recently passed?"

The carriage came to a halt. A blonde woman in a fashionable modern-cut dress strode up to the vehicle, obviously upset. She looked vaguely familiar to the Time Lord.

"I'd love to chat more, comparing the differences between our worlds, but it looks like my mother wants a word with all of us," the young man said, wincing at the determined look on the woman's face.

Before Markham and Jack could dismount, she had already opened the door and stuck her head inside. _"You!" _she exclaimed, eyeballing the Doctor as if he looked the same as earlier. "You've got a lot of nerve endangering my child and the future King of Albion like this!"

Despite his newfound larger size, the Doctor suddenly felt two inches tall being scolded like this. He quite liked her for a picosecond, then he realized who she reminded him of: "_Jackie Tyler_?" he asked under his now terrified breath.

"Doctor, meet my mother, The Lady Miranda Greene-Jones," the young man said.

"Blimey!"

* * *

A/N: If you haven't figured it out, this incarnation happens to bear more than a fair resemblance to a 40s-ish Brendan Gleeson (circa Lake Placid to Wild About Harry/GoNY), and his initial look borrows somewhat from Mad Eye Moody. Don't worry, he'll change soon enough. Clothes, that is.

FYI: I wrote the first several chapters **before** I knew what Matt Smith would be wearing as 11, btw. HONEST!

(Now off to play those lottery numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42...)

Yes, this is also a nod to another of Camille's roles, Miranda Green, albeit this is obviously set in another dimension entirely. You'll see more of the differences in the next chapter. As for her husband? We'll get to him in due time.

(disclaimer: I don't own those characters either!)

Prince William's aide-de-camp/protector, Will Markham, is loosely based on Mark Addy, circa Knight's Tale or The Order in appearance (re: beard). His style of dress would be more in line with The Time Machine, however.

And the Prince is NOT the Real Life William of Windsor, they just happen to share a first name and hair color. I do have someone in mind for him, but I won't reveal who just yet. _SPOILERS!_

Tbc...


	2. Assessment

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 2 - Assessment

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, OCs

* * *

"Blimey!" the Doctor muttered as he stepped out of the carriage and face to face with a familiar face that was not exactly who he expected.

"I ask you lot to do _one_ simple thing and you've buggered it all to hell!" the woman blasted him.

Jackie Tyler was one thing, but this woman with her face and attitude was another thing, entirely. He silently prayed for another joint Cyber-Dalek invasion as masterminded by the Master and Davros to happen at that exact moment.

Nothing happened. Not even a Slitheen or Auton. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked her.

"Don't you start with me, Doctor!" she hollered. "I've half a mind to kick you from here to Barcelona!"

What she did next took everyone by surprise. She kissed the Doctor hard on the mouth. He almost enjoyed it.

Then she slapped him. "What was that for?" he stammered, utterly perplexed at the woman. No surprise there, really.

"For risking your life to save my son," she said quietly, then turned on the Crown Prince. "You! Inside! _NOW!"_

The young prince hung his head and headed for the nearest door. She turned on his assigned protector. "Markham! We don't pay you to fool around!" He started to say something, but wisely kept his mouth shut. A nasty side glance to a smirking Jack Harkness told him to do the same. "You almost lost my son and nearly killed the Doctor!"

The quintet looked at each other in confusion.

"Pardon me, ma'am," the Doctor interrupted, "how do you know that?"

"Oh, like you don't know?" she shot back. "Vic warned us about you ages ago!"

He crossed his arms at the mention of the woman who he saved from becoming a were-she-wolf, knighted, then banished him, and immediately established the Torchwood Institute moments after his departure to stop him. "Listen, your majesty, as much as I'd like to be brow-beaten by your charming self, I do believe there is a plot afoot to eliminate your son and sovereign!" he countered in his gruffest voice.

Her mouth opened like a fish gasping for water. "Well! I never!" she finally uttered.

"Apparently not, judging by the absence of your husband yet again," he retorted. A low blow, he knew, especially since this wasn't 'his' Jackie Tyler or some variation of her.

She slapped him again.

He slapped her in return. Markham immediately interceded before the pair made further fools of themselves. For their part, Rhys, Gwen, and Jack hoped not to be noticed by the woman.

"Can we all just calm down?" Markham asked the pair.

"_NO!" _came the combined answer of the duelists.

Markham had already managed to signal for help on his armband and was thankful as a small Royal Guard squad had finally shown up to separate the pair. "That's enough out of the both of you!" he ordered. "Take her majesty to her quarters, and keep her there!" he ordered her guards before turning to the Doctor. "I'll see to this one and his friends," he growled.

The Lady Miranda howled in protest, vowing revenge on Markham, the Doctor, his companions, and all their descendants for all time as she was escorted away.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to the quartet. "Lucky thing is, the Regent has strict orders none of her threats are to be carried out without his approval and consent," he explained.

"Which explains his absence?" the Doctor asked.

"No, not at all," he replied. "He actually is out of the country on business matters in the Louisiana Territories, but his standing orders are enforced doubly so while he's away." He motioned the group to follow him. "She does tend to get a bit high strung, especially when matters such as this tend to crop up," he continued. "The whole of United Albion has been in turmoil since the recent passing of King Wilf and since his cousin, the Regent, cannot take the Crown, the next in succession is his son, Prince William."

The Doctor nodded in understanding. "And the person plotting to replace the Crown Prince?"

"The other branch of the family, Lord Greaves," he explained. "Turns out, he was somehow able to clone the Crown Prince, but that kid is completely under his control."

The Doctor stopped. "I'm sorry, cloning? Forgive my ignorance of your altered history from the one I'm used to, but how is that possible?" He motioned around. "Not much of this looks very modern from what I've seen, yet you have some sort of micro-propulsion driving your carriages, some of you dress as if it were a century ago compared to the early 21st Century fashion I recall and her Highness is wearing, _and_ you have cloning technology?" he counted off incredulously. "This lot have almost a century before they see any of this as common in their world."

Markham stopped, stooped to pick up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at the still open gate. The rock bounced off of thin air with a light thump, dropping straight down.

"What's that saying? Technology, if advanced enough-?"

"-appears as magic to the untrained eye," Jack finished.

"We may _appear_ a bit behind your world in some respects, Doctor," Markham continued, "but in others, we're significantly more advanced."

"So how does her majesty know what I look like, now?" he asked.

"Again, my fault," he said and held up the device on his left arm for the Doctor's inspection. "This not only tracks my movements as well as the Prince's, but also records everything and everyone we encounter, including our re-introduction, earlier. Not to mention the grounds are covered in cameras and the like, forest included. Her highness was surely watching us the whole time, keeping an eye on her son, just in case." He paused, before admitting, "Especially after, well-"

"You shot me?" The Doctor gave a not-quite-amused smirk and motioned for the still embarrassed Markham to continue leading the way. He wasn't sure if he was impressed with the technology or Markham's beefy arm he (teasingly?) wore it on or both. He silently cursed himself again as Markham lead the group to a security office, motioning one man over from his side office. Once again, The Doctor had an odd sense of déjà vu that he had met this man before.

"Doctor?" the man greeted him. "How are you feeling?"

The Time Lord shook his hand, giving him a wary eye. "I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked.

"My apologies, Doctor, you two were never, um, properly introduced," Markham said. "This is Jackson Lake, our head of security at Torchwood Royal."

The Doctor blanched. "Jackson Lake? But that was a good hundred and fifty years ago!" The mental image of the man's ancestor came to mind, even the style of dress was similar.

"And still not me," he chuckled. "That was my great-great grandfather you seem to know of, Doctor, whom I was named after."

"The resemblance is remarkable," he noted. "Tell me, were you descended from the son we rescued or one he had later?"

"My grandfather, Frederick, was not Rosita's child, if that's what you mean," he replied. "However, he was one of Torchwood's first recruits, once word got back to Her Majesty that they had met the Doctor a good quarter century before she established the Institute."

"Well then," he chuckled, "I hope your family is still keeping up my standards."

"We would like to hope so," he smirked, then nodded to Jack. "Captain Harkness."

"Commander," Jack nodded with a smile.

Markham interrupted the chat, handing the Doctor and Jack a thick file. "This is what we know about Greaves' plan, gentlemen. If you would follow me?" He led the group to a meeting room and arrayed the various photos and documents out so they could all see what they were dealing with.

Time indexed photos appeared to show the Prince in two locations at once at various times. A mix of Markham, Lady Miranda, a lean older man, and a tall, heavyset middle-aged gentleman accompanied a younger Prince in most of them, while a lean man with silver-grey hair accompanied the 'Prince' in others. Locations noted on the photos indicated they were miles apart, even countries apart in some comparison shots, all at the same approximate time.

"Obviously, we have a public record of the Crown Prince's whereabouts," Markham explained, "proving it wasn't him with Greaves in these shots." He pointed out the second half of most pictures.

"So you haven't been able to expose him yet?" Gwen asked.

"We were lucky to get this handful of snaps," Lake informed her. "We had to pay one of his aides a tidy sum just to get his itinerary, then place agents close enough to risk taking the pictures."

"How did he manage to get the Prince's DNA to clone him, anyway?" the Doctor inquired.

"We're still not sure of that," Markham told them. "We know that Greaves was invited to several of the Prince's early family events, but was banned by the time of the Prince's first birthday."

"Would he have any spies on staff?" Jack asked, "Someone who would have any grudge against the Regent or your late King enough to supply Greaves with something so benign as a dirty diaper?"

"No," Markham replied. "As I said, our technology may be slightly more advanced than yours, but he would have needed a fresh tissue sample directly from the Prince, himself. He couldn't have used a diaper, hair, or even a toothbrush to get enough DNA to clone him. We've already cleared the Royal Physicians for that."

"What about the aging process?" the Doctor asked, poring over the pictures. "How would he account for the difference in ages? Even if the DNA was taken as an infant, there would still be at least a year gap in their ages. Now that they are adults, it is minor, but those closest to him should notice."

"We still don't know," Lake replied.

The Doctor and Jack continued to pore over the documents, as Gwen glanced over to see Rhys sitting in the corner, twiddling his thumbs. She held up the Prince's baby picture and smiled. "Oh, Rhys! Isn't he cute?" she asked, admiring the royal tot's then-blond curls.

Rhys nodded and looked in her eyes. His smile slowly faded as a silent concern passed between them: getting back to their own baby. This didn't go unnoticed by Jack or Markham. The Doctor and Lake had their backs to the couple and missed it, however. She turned back to the table to read some documents, but still gave her husband a sideways glance on occasion.

After an hour, Rhys' rumbling stomach gave them all pause.

"Sounds like as good an excuse as any to me," Lake chuckled, glancing at his own armband for the time. "Anyone else fancy dinner?"

"I'm bloody starving" the Doctor exclaimed. "Feels like I haven't eaten in ages!"

Jack started to say something, but Gwen and Markham's glares kept his mouth shut.

The two Torchwood Royal guards led the visitors to spare quarters to refresh and change. The Doctor merely shucked his overcoat and allowed a change of cleaner (and more classier) footwear, while Gwen and Rhys chose to change into more native dress, but Jack passed, preferring to keep his own garb. Lake and a cleaned up Markham then led the group to the family dining hall, where things were a bit less formal than they expected.

Markham showed them to their seats. "It would take too long to explain all the details, but the Regent wasn't raised with all the pageantry we normally expect of one in his position. He declared the normal, daily meals be held without resorting to all the fuss of the elegant Royal State dinners you would expect," he explained. "We still use the fine china, though," he chuckled.

The group had barely been seated when Prince William joined them, having also changed out of his muddied hunting clothes into something a bit more proper. He greeted them warmly before assuming his seat at the left hand seat of the head of the table reserved for the Regent's chair.

They were surprised when Lady Miranda joined them as charming as they had known her to be, taking her usual seat across from her son. The travelers were slightly taken aback at the change in her demeanor. None were ready to question this change in polite company, although most guessed it had been medically induced.

The Doctor caught a glimpse of her escort as she entered, who gave an icy glare at Markham before closing the door. Will managed to glance up as she Miranda entered, and seemed like he was about to say something, but held his tongue. He glanced to Miranda as if he were a scolded puppy. The Doctor passed this off as none of his business, as he didn't plan on staying long.

The two groups made polite conversation, mostly discussing the differences between their worlds. The Prince amused by Gwen and Rhys' accounts of their own Royals while keeping an open ear as Jack kept the guardsmen entertained by going on about the technological comparisons.

The Doctor seemingly concentrated more on the food, only occasionally keeping his companions from revealing too much, especially Jack. If anything, he kept an eye on Lady Miranda, who quietly ate while listening in on her counterparts' lives, quietly upset upon learning of Diana.

After the meal, the group returned to the security conference room to continue their research. Prince William joined them, much to Lake's displeasure, but the Doctor encouraged his addition, saying he could add some detail the Royal Guard had missed.

William proved his intelligence by showing an awareness of the case Lake hadn't expected. Markham finally admitted he and the Regent had informed the Crown Prince of the plot when the King's health had begun deteriorating as part of his preparation to ascend the Throne. Lake wasn't too amused by this, as he was previously unaware that the Regent had shared this information with his son. Markham pointed out it had been the Regent's decision and he abided by it, being the Prince's personal bodyguard and main tutor.

As the evening wore on, the group slowly filtered back to their assigned quarters, Jack and Markham leaving the Doctor and Lake by themselves, after Markham escorted the Prince to his suite and later the couple to their assigned private rooms.

"Why do I find it odd that you were kept out of the loop on the Prince's knowledge of this plot?" the Doctor finally inquired.

"The Regent often does things against protocol," Jackson replied. "It's very annoying to the Royal staff, but has endeared him to the general public. Makes him more approachable to them."

"And why is that?"

Lake sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "There was a terrorist attack during a Royal celebration," he explained somberly.

"My apologies."

"It was thirty years ago," Lake waved it off. "Nearly everyone in the family was killed with few exceptions like the distant cousins of Lords Wyndham and Greaves. Due to their advanced ages and lack of heirs, the quest was on to find who would be next in line. That honor fell on the Prince's father, and Lord Wyndham's great-nephew, an American. He was the illegitimate grandson of the Duke of Scotland, his mother sired during an affair whilst visiting the Colonies."

"So, not having any other choice, he was recruited into the position?" the Doctor inquired.

"More like we drafted him," Lake chuckled. "He was a divorced small businessman living in New Orleans. He's a good chap, but he was never going to take the Throne if given the chance."

"I thought you said the people liked him?"

"They do, but when he was made aware of the position he was in and what he was being asked to do, he politely turned us down on wearing the crown. Not that he ever would have to begin with," he explained. "However, he was willing to start a new family to supply the Kingdom with a Royal heir, which is all he was really required to do."

"So, a whirlwind romance and/or arranged marriage, and sire a child to one day ascend the Throne makes the kingdom and the world happy, right?"

"Basically," Lake grunted. "His true identity was kept secret for a period, so he posed as himself, visiting on an extended business trip and met the Lady Miranda. The rest, as they say, is history."

"And the Lady Miranda turns out to be bi-polar?"

The Royal Guard sighed, knowing the Family Secret had been found out. "She is on medication for that," Lake confessed, "but it's also under strict supervision. Things have been hectic the last few weeks with the passing of King Wilf and the upcoming Coronation, so there have been a few _incidents_ where she might have missed a dosage, like this afternoon."

The Doctor nodded and waved off the confirmation. "Can I ask, when does the Regent return from his trip?" he inquired. "Presumably, the Prince will be crowned soon and he will be in attendance, correct?"

Lake eyed him warily for a moment before responding. "The schedule stands as he wraps up his business tomorrow and flies home tomorrow night." He glanced at the time on his armband again. "Actually, that would be today and tonight. The Coronation is set for the day after, which happens to be the Solstice...and Charles' birthday."

The Doctor glanced to a small globe in the corner. "Assuming the Louisiana Territories are in the same location, and the same time difference, right?" Lake nodded. "That doesn't give us much time" he noted.

"No, it doesn't," Jackson agreed, then yawned. "Sorry, Doctor, I know we may be pressed for time, but it is nearly 02:00 and we do still need our sleep."

"Do you mind if I look these over again in my quarters?" he asked. "I still think we're missing something here."

"Be my guest, Doctor," he replied as the Time Lord began stacking the files and pictures back into the folders. "I will have to escort you to your room and lock you in as long as you have them, though."

"Oh, that won't be a problem," he replied absentmindedly.

When they arrived at the Doctor's assigned quarters, Lake did point out the computer terminal in the room if he needed it, noting all interactions with it would be monitored. The Doctor thanked him and bade him good night as Lake secured his room for the night. He made one quick errand before eventually proceeding to Jack's room where he joined the Time Agent and his friend Markham for the evening. Sleep was not on the agenda.

It was 06:00 when Lake's and Markham's alerts went off on their wristbands, simultaneously. The trio, despite having little rest, quickly dressed and headed toward the Doctor's room at the end of the hall, where the alert originated. Palace Guards were already waiting for their superiors to allow them entry.

Jackson was furious when he realized his security override wasn't working. "He somehow changed my code!" he fumed.

Harkness stepped up and knocked on the door. "Doctor? It's Jack, can we come in?"

Jack heard a faint but familiar buzzing and the door clicked open. "Come in!" he heard the man bellow from somewhere in the room.

The trio entered, but saw no sign of the Doctor. Markham headed for the lavatory, hearing water running. "The shower's already gone cold," he informed the other two, turning it off.

Jackson went to the desk on which lay the files he left with the Doctor and began flipping through them. "Several files are missing," he noted. He glared at Jack. "Please don't tell me this was some kind of deception so you could disrupt the Coronation?"

Jack held up his hands. "Far from it. The Doctor is his own man and will sometimes follow a hunch without telling anyone else," he said. "I don't know where he's got to, but he has to be somewhere in the castle."

Markham rejoined them and the trio began searching the quarters for clues. It was empty.

"What was he looking at on the net?" Jack asked, noting the computer was still on.

Markham pulled up the History, glancing over the hundreds of pages the Doctor had gone over in the few hours he had been alone. "Yowza. Looks like a lot of Quickipedia pages, mostly on Royal History and related topics," he informed them. "Lots of the pages on the Royal Incident, the Regent, and Lords Wyndham and Greaves."

"I'm guessing that's your version of our Wikipedia?" Jack asked, glancing over the man's shoulders. "A user-reinforced reference site?"

The other two men nodded. "Wiki, as in wiki-wiki? Why a Hawai'ian Kingdom reference?" Jackson inquired.

Jack shrugged. "I'm not the one who came up with the name, sorry."

"He was definitely on to something, but what?" Markham mused, glancing over the various links.

"Window's open," Lake informed them. Jack glanced over to see Lake looking out a corner window. "From the looks of the tracks, he had a carriage waiting down below to make his getaway."

"He wouldn't need that, he can just call the TARDIS to him," Jack told them.

Lake gave him a confused look. "What's a TARDIS?"

Jack and Markham looked at each other. "His, um-? Trust me, it's hard to explain," the other Royal Guard replied. "Where do the tracks lead?"

Jackson studied the faint impressions two stories below. "Looks like he was headed toward the-oh no, The Royal Quarters wing!"

The trio ran as fast as they could, with the Castle Guard barely keeping up.

* * *

**Earlier-**

No sooner than Jackson Lake had left the Doctor to his research, then the Time Lord began in earnest using this world's internet. "Conspiracy sites are always a good place to start," he muttered to himself as he opened the computer's browser window.

What he learned was that this mystery double had been sighted and alleged as being the real Prince William, while the real Prince was the 'stand-in' and the 'fake.' The main allegation was to protect the purer lineage by having the Albion-born Lord Greaves raise and teach the "true prince", while the Colonial-born Regent father raised the double. Some called it a travesty that this double would be put through this, while some suggested it was the Regent's illegitimate heir by his alleged Colonial mistress or ex-wife, hence the close similarity in appearance to the Regent.

The Doctor was more than amused by this. Then he realized another error in this timeline. The usage of Albion over Britain and the United States was still referred to as a Colony or Territory, including the Louisiana Territory where the Regent was born and raised. Upon some more research, he discovered that the American Revolution wasn't as successful, so-called 'minor' incidents such as the Boston Massacre didn't happen, or if they did, they weren't as they occurred in Gwen and Rhys' world.

The overall effect was that the Albion Rule over the Americas held on longer, but with some parallels. George Washington was appointed Prime Governor of the original thirteen American Colonies by George III at the urging of a compassionate advisor, who was sympathetic to the over taxation they were protesting. After that, George IV started taking over more responsibilities for his father as the elder King's health began deteriorating earlier.

This minor ripple meant that the Colonies became more independent as time went on, but not as much as they had initially hoped and intended. The French Revolution, however, was more successful, and circumstances for them and the rest of Mainland Europe were nearly identical until the early 20th Century.

The modern American Colonies were much the same as The Doctor knew them, with the exception of how they were arranged into five governorships. The original thirteen colony states were kept intact as the Eastern Colonies, with every other state east of the Mississippi gathered into the Central Colonies. The Regent's Louisiana Territories covered west of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, much like the original Louisiana Purchase, albeit with only a portion of eastern Texas included. The Texas Territories covered most of the American Southwest, including a still disputed border with Spanish Mexico and the Baja Peninsula, and the southern two-thirds of California. The Northwest Colony states covered the remaining northwestern states of the Continental US, northern California and east to the Rockies, then up to the Canadian border. Most of the state lines had been kept intact, with a few exceptions like the divided Texas and California states. Canada had absorbed Alaska from the Russians (creating a unique mix of Inuit, Russian, and Canadian cultures), and the Kingdom of Hawai'i became a protectorate of the American Colonies (as did several West Indies island nations, including Cuba and Puerto Rico), yet still refusing statehood or further inclusion by the American Colonies.

The rest of this world's history was very much the same with only minor differences here and there. Rasputin's influence paved the way to the downfall of the Russian Czars; and The First World War gave way to the Second a few years early, with the American Colonies being held in reserve until it was deemed they could no longer stay uninvolved. Even then several atrocities like the Holocaust and attacks such as Pearl Harbor happened, leading Tesla's protégé Albert Einstein to pave the way for his work with Oppenheimer and nuclear warfare when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Berlin almost became a nuclear casualty, but the suicide of Hitler and subsequent surrender of Germany put a halt on that threat. Military officials were already hesitant to unleash the devastation in the heart of the European Continent, noting the Japanese fallout could be contained more easily as the island nation was easier to isolate. Another post-War factor was the lesser population explosion, with this world holding back at less than four billion, as opposed to the nearly seven billion of Gwen and Rhys' world.

The main difference at this point was the technology. Nikola Tesla found the British government much more willing to help him than the independent American inventor Thomas Edison, who had conned the rival genius out of several early technological advances. Better communications were developed earlier, which led to the earlier rise of the Digital Age as they entered the third quarter of the previous century, decades before his Earth. Werner von Braun's defection to the Allies came earlier and there was now the International AeroSpace Alliance, IASA, which managed to reach the moon at the same time with the same crew, but no longer needed to waste liquid fuel, thanks to Tesla. SkyLab was more successful in this world, and the International Space Station was currently a stopover on the way to Lunar Base, which was itself the launching point for Ares Base.

In fact, most of the world was independent of fossil fuel consumption thanks to Tesla's inventions (as the Doctor had already seen with the Prince's carriage), so the Mid-Eastern Gulf Wars of the late 20th Century on were still more about religion than greed, with the exception of the constant land war of Israel. This, unfortunately, also lead to the demise of most of the Royal Family of Albion.

When Queen Elisabeth decided to have a Royal Family vacation on the Titanic II, nearly the entire lineage was wiped out by a joint terrorist faction from the MidEast and Japan with a combination of sabotage and sarin gas, ensuring their victory and the near-complete loss of the Albion Royals.

The groups were immediate outcasts across the globe, and eventually nearly extinguished, save for the usual handful of scattered "extreme loyalists." These few were unsuccessful in recruiting more to their cause, with the global bounties being as high as they were, it almost ensured capture and death.

Meanwhile, the Albion Parliament raced to find the next Royal in line for succession. The first two candidates that were known to the Parliament were also members of the House of Lords, William Frederick Wyndham, who had the closer relation, and Geoffrey Greaves. Both men had passed on the ill-fated trip due to outstanding business matters in Parliament.

Unfortunately, neither had any known heirs, nor wanted any (another difference in this world being that racism and homophobia was frowned upon, and many across history were openly out as gay or bisexual without much stigma), so the search continued for the next successor in line. That heir was found in the person of an illegitimate grandson of the Duke of Scotland, who happened to be a businessman in the Louisiana Colonies.

The Duke had carried on an affair with a Colonist widow decades prior, following the Second World War, resulting in a daughter. The official story was that the Duke had served with the woman's RAF pilot husband in the second World War, and when he went to console her after the man's death, the pair struck up a brief romance, resulting in a child. He was called home by the time she gave birth, yet visited as often as he could until the mistress remarried, the new husband adopting her young daughter as his own, supposedly unaware of her true legacy. This child grew up to start a family of her own before dying in an accident before her son was in his teens. At the time of the Royal Family's demise, her son had also lost his grandmother to old age, as well as his father, to a heart attack, leaving him the only descendant of the Duke.

As the Doctor read this, he couldn't help but notice that, despite the worldwide search for an heir, the pilot's name was blacked out in official documents (including any suggestion of the woman's original surname, birth or married), but a variety of names had been suggested on the conspiracy sites, which included one Captain very familiar to the Time Lord. One fact that did not escape his attention is that the Duke (and the mystery pilot) had served under an Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart during their time in the RAF. He had to spare a fond chuckle for the old man, who still went on to command UNIT in this world as well as act as their liaison to Torchwood.

The Doctor pushed himself back from the monitor to ponder this information and stretch. That was when he realized where the truth lay. He glanced at the computer clock and saw it was nearly 05:00. He quickly put a plan into motion to expose the truth of the situation. Too bad the Regent was out of the country and could not back him up on this, he mused.

Acting quickly, he set the computer up to respond only to Jack's voice, thereby unlocking the room doors, which he had overridden. Summoning the Prince's carriage in part by reversing the computer wi-fi signal with his sonic screwdriver, he leapt from the second story window onto the vehicle. (This world's anti-collision buffer technology thankfully also included aerial drops as well as ground level collisions, or it may have just been a special modification to this particular carriage. The Doctor was in no rush to go back and inquire further at the moment.) and overrode the controls on that, as well, before heading out before the dawn broke.

Thankfully, the castle guards were used to odd comings and goings of the Royal Family, so a pre-dawn errand into town was not unusual to see, especially for the Regent and his son. The pre-dawn darkness helped mask the Doctor's identity, and he was allowed passage out of the castle grounds by a weary guard, mistaking him for Markham by his new bulk and the fact very select few were allowed to drive the Prince's carriage.

(This did not endear the guard to his superior, Jackson Lake, when it came to light how the Doctor had made his escape. Luckily for him, the Prince would argue the point on his behalf, saving the man's job, and probably his life, if Lake had his way.)

The Doctor roared off into the night, hoping his visit to the PathQuest website would be overlooked long enough that he could reach his destination. The man's address was hard enough to find as it was, despite his public standing.

**TBC...**


	3. Thieves In The Night

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 3 - Thieves in the Night

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/others, OCs

* * *

The Palace alarms woke Miranda and her Lady in Waiting. Miranda was ordered to her panic room while her guardian grabbed her weapon and took up a defensive position in the anteroom. A few minutes later, the door burst open and she drew her aim at the intruders.

"Halt, or I will shoot to kill!" she ordered.

The lights flickered on and she saw her superiors, Jackson Lake and Will Markham, accompanied by several Palace guards and another man, who looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"_Tosh_?" Jack Harkness said in disbelief. Markham did a double-take at the man beside him.

Seeing that he was accompanying her superiors, she let her guard down only slightly. "Do I know you?"

"Stand down, Sato," Lake ordered her as he crossed the room. "Where is Her Majesty?"

She kept an eye on Jack as she stepped to Lake. "In her safe room, Sir. May I ask who your companion is?"

"Captain Jack Harkness," the Time Agent replied as he looked her up and down with a smile. She had obviously been woken, so wore only a brief nightgown under her robe, but he could still tell she was in fighting shape, and in no mood to be messed with. She also wore an armband like Lake and Markham. "It's good to see you again, Toshiko," he beamed.

Toshiko Sato lowered her gun, but stared at him in confusion. "I don't believe we've met, Captain Harkness, is it?"

"Not in this lifetime," he smiled.

"Save it for later, you two," Markham chided them, obviously annoyed. She scoffed in return. Jack raised a curious brow at this exchange.

"Markham, go check on the Prince," Lake interjected. Will nodded and left with three guards. Jack hung behind for a moment to steal another glance at the double of his departed comrade before joining them. "Sato, was there anyone in here besides the two of you?"

"No sir," she replied. "Can I ask what is going on?"

"You were briefed on yesterday's incident?" he inquired. She nodded. "Capt. Harkness was involved. Do not leave him or his companions alone with _any_ member of the Royal Family, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," she replied. The order gave her a chill, but not towards Harkness. Something about it made her uneasy, but she couldn't put her finger on it at the moment.

Elsewhere, Markham punched in his personal access code to enter the Prince's suites. The door buzzed and denied him entrance. He sighed and tried again as Jack stepped up.

"Problems with the locks?" he inquired.

"Damn kids and this technology. He's always trying to lock us out," Markham informed him. "Luckily, we do have a few people on staff who programmed in an override that only three of us know about."

"You, the Regent, and who else?" Jack asked as the door beeped and unlocked. "Lake? His mother?"

"Don't worry about it, Jack," Will said as he entered the suite and called out, "Will? It's me and Jack, are you okay?"

There was no answer.

He motioned to two guards to stay outside while the third to accompany him and Jack. He unlocked the interior door and found the room in pitch blackness. Jack heard Markham flip the light switch to no avail. "Lights," he called out, but nothing happened.

"Fun time is over, Will, come on out," Markham told the dark. "We just had a minor breach and need to check on you as a matter of protocol. You can go back to whatever you were doing in a minute." No answer. "Come on, Will, I've seen you doing just about everything, you won't scare or surprise me."

Jack heard the door lock again behind him and started to say something, but a flicker of movement in the darkness caught his eye. He barely had time to shove Markham out of the way as a figure pounced on him and he felt cold metal pierce his side. "Get out!" he warned Markham.

The Royal Torchwood Agent regained his balance from being shoved and turned to see his guard taken down in a burst of electricity from a stun glove. His face went white as he saw the attacker.

"W-Will?" he stammered as the shadow shoved him back, knocking him over Harkness' fallen body. He heard a swish of air as he fell, followed by the thunk of something metal being imbedded in wood, which he could only assume was the Prince's bedpost.

A grunt from the darkness as his opponent freed his weapon. Markham, having no weapon on him, tried to signal for help on his armband, but found it had no power. He panicked for a moment, wondering how that could happen, seeing as how it partially fuelled itself from his own body heat.

As he tried to scramble to his feet, a boot kicked him in the hip, knocking him down once more. He rolled to his back to face his attacker, only to hear the weapon imbed itself in the floor right where his head had been a moment before. He kicked at the spot he guessed the intruder to be, but only caught air before his ankle was grabbed.

Suddenly, his leg was jerked to the side and the hand holding his ankle was yanked free. He could hear grunts of struggle in the darkness. He felt for the handle of the weapon imbedded in the floor and pulled the sword free.

"LIGHTS!" he shouted again and small emergency lights in the corners finally hummed to life, spreading a dim light over the room, just enough to see Jack was now grappling with the intruder. He happened to catch sight of where the blade had struck the bedpost, the same height as his neck.

The assailant shoved a gloved hand against Jack's chest and another burst of electricity lit the area between the combatants. Jack seized up and fell back. The intruder turned and approached Markham, his other hand now holding Jack's gun.

"You picked the wrong team," the ginger haired young man said before he pulled the trigger.

* * *

The Doctor had ditched the Prince's Del Aurian carriage in an alley several blocks from his destination, hoping no one would find it before he needed it again. He went two blocks out of his way and hailed another transom cab for the rest of the six block journey. He had to laugh at the identity of the man driving this carriage, the double of someone he had just left behind at Wyndham Castle. "Rhys?" he asked as he climbed in.

"I'm sorry, sir, do I know you?" Albion's Rhys Williams asked.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor chuckled, "you could say we have some friends in common."

"If you say so, sir, where to?"

The Doctor gave him the intersection nearest to his destination and hoped he could sneak in from there. When they arrived, he thanked this Rhys profusely and hinted he would see him again. Rhys drove off, hoping the rest of his day's passengers would be less cryptic.

The Doctor wasted no time and quickly snuck in a side entrance to the residence and made his way to the living quarters with no interference, which he thought was odd. He found the occupant waiting for him in the dining room with breakfast. He noted three places had been set out.

"It took you long enough, Doctor," Lord Greaves greeted him, motioning him to sit. "Help yourself," he waved to the food.

"You were waiting for me?" he inquired as he filled a plate, not wanting to appear rude. He was still famished despite the large meal of the previous evening as well as raiding his suite's provisions, earlier.

"For nearly an hour, yes."

"How did you know I was coming?" the Time Lord inquired. "I barely had an hour to locate you to begin with."

"We all have our secrets, Doctor," the man noted with a casual wave of his hand. "Let's just say some secrets are buried better than others," he smiled as if at a private joke.

"You have an agent inside Wyndham Castle, possibly even Torchwood, itself," the Doctor surmised.

"For someone who has only been here, in what you call an alternate world from your own, for such a brief time, you seem to know the way things work, already," he acknowledged.

"One of your agents behind the assassination attempt yesterday told you about me and my arrival?"

Greaves smiled and took a sip of tea. "Oh, it goes deeper than that, Doctor," he acknowledged as he set the cup down and pressed a button on a device next to his plate. "It's too bad you won't be able to warn your friends or the Regent what I'm about to do."

"They already know you plan to replace the Prince with a clone, but you allowed them to know that, didn't you?"

Greaves smiled as he fiddled with the device. "A clone? Quite right, Doctor. Of course, they have no idea how long this has really been going on."

"Oh, I think at least one person knows, Lord Greaves," the Doctor said as a video panel flared to life, displaying a wooded scene. "I think he's been in on it since day one, if not before, if I'm not mistaken?"

The video showed a trio hiking in the woods from a high overhead angle. The Doctor recognized them as the Prince, and his two top Torchwood agents, Lake and Markham.

"I received this video last night, and had to move my plans up a few days," Greaves admitted. The video flickered for a moment, as if an electromagnetic disturbance had occurred. "I do believe that was the moment of your arrival, which spurred my forces into action early," he noted.

The Doctor would have refuted this, since it had never happened in the timeline he was used to, but was distracted at that moment as the third party to their breakfast entered and took his seat at the table. The Doctor's mouth opened in shock as Prince William took a plate and began filling it. He looked dazed, as if drugged.

"Good morning, my son," Greaves greeted the newcomer.

"Good morning, father," the prince replied, slurred.

"Why don't you say hello to our guest, Doctor-erm, what did you say your last name was again?" he goaded.

"Just 'The Doctor' will do," the Time Lord replied, tearing his eyes away from the boy for a moment.

"Good morning, just the doctor will do," came the younger man's tired voice.

"What did you do to him?" the Time Lord demanded. "How did you smuggle him out of the castle?"

"Oh, he's just on a mild sedative to keep him from acting up while here," Greaves confessed. "He's actually been a guest of mine off and on over the years."

"How did you do it? How did you clone him?"

"There's that word again, _clone_. Is that what you think I did?" he asked. "I'm not the one who cloned him. None of this was my idea, but I felt an...obligation, not just to the family, but to the Crown and the Kingdom," he smiled.

"If you didn't clone him, then who-" the Doctor stopped short as the realization of what was going on confirmed part of what he suspected. "Who let you take the boy?"

Greaves smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "His father, of course. Now, watch the video," he pointed to the screen.

The Doctor watched, suspicious, but his mind fell back, finally remembering his own part in the events.

* * *

The TARDIS lurched, throwing the couple to the floor while the other two men held their stations, fighting to regain control.

"DOC-_TOR_! What's happening?" Gwen Cooper cried out, losing her balance again. Luckily, her husband Rhys caught her arm and kept her from falling off the ledge to the level below.

"I'm not sure!" he shouted back. "Something happened, a-a hiccup in time, for lack of a better word!" he lied. The last time he had felt something like this, was back when he had crossed worlds and lost Rose. He silently hoped it was nothing of the sort, this time. "I've punched in the coordinates for Wales, homing in on the Rift. I'm going to try and force her to land there!"

"Great," Rhys muttered under his breath.

"Oh, let's get away for our anniversary, Gwen," she mocked her husband. "Oh no, I've got a _better idea _for you two," she shot at Jack, who tried to ignore her as he helped the Doctor try to regain control. "I'll just ask the Doctor to take you on a vacation you'll never forget, and we'll be back the moment we left!" she screamed his own words at the immortal.

Jack glanced up to her, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"_I want a new travel agent_!" she exclaimed as the TARDIS rattled again, shaking it's occupants before finally lurching into a rough landing.

The quartet all waited to see if it was only a temporary respite or if they were in for more tossing about. When nothing happened, the Doctor declared, "See? I told you I'd get you back home safe and sound!"

"Why don't we check the monitors, just to be safe?" Jack offered.

The Time Lord rolled his eyes and flipped a switch. The outside viewer blinked to life, showing a forest where there should have been a city.

"That's not Wales," Jack noted.

The Doctor checked his instruments. "Hmm, no, but we are near London. Not exactly sure, but I don't recall this big a forest that close to town?" He flipped a few more switches. "Anyone up for a walk? Let the old girl cool down a few minutes and we can stretch our legs, get some fresh air? Hmm?"

The trio shared annoyed glances. "Better to walk home from here than take another chance inside this contraption," Rhys decided.

"Ah! Just the answer I was looking for!" the Doctor exclaimed and headed for the door. The others had no real choice but to follow.

Once outside, the Doctor knelt down and examined the grass. "Looks like Earth, smells like Earth. I'd say...turn of the 21st Century?"

"Close enough," Jack noted, walking away from the TARDIS a bit. "Hey, there's a path over here, maybe we can walk to town and get our bearings?"

"You don't have to tell me, twice!" Gwen said and charged ahead with Rhys, leaving the two experienced time travelers to follow behind.

After a minute of watching him examine their surroundings, Jack asked the Doctor, "So where are we, really?"

The Time Lord glanced around, examining everything they passed. "I'm not sure. It looks and feels like we should be in their right time period, but something's...off?"

"Like?"

"The air is cleaner, and the Earth just feels..._wrong_, somehow."

"Well, we are in a forest, away from the city pollution. Could that be it?"

"No, it's something else, something-"

Two shots rang out. The two time travelers looked at each other and took off running towards the sound, afraid their friends had been hurt.

* * *

"I'm still not so sure this is a good idea, your Highness," Will Markham complained again. "Your father will be back in a few days and your Coronation takes place immediately after, it's just not a good time to waste a day in the woods, quote-unquote, hunting."

"Objection noted and ignored, Will," Prince William replied. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call _me_ 'Will' when we're alone out here together?"

"It gets confusing to me, keeping track of the both of you," Jackson Lake chuckled, bring up the rear.

The other two stopped, shared a smile and turned on their companion. "One of us! One of us!" they chanted, reaching for him, and not bothering to hide their amusement.

"Ha and Ha," Lake replied, brushing their hands away. "Are we going to just walk the woods or are we going to shoot something, today?" he asked in annoyance.

"I came out here to try and relax while I could, lads," the prince informed them. "I don't care if we get anything, I just want to unwind while I have the chance before all the pomp and circumstance."

"Well, I've got a circumstance that won't wait much longer," Markham said. "If you'll excuse me a minute?" He started to wander off from the trail they were following.

"As long as we're taking a break, I'll join you," Lake agreed. "Your Highness?"

"I'm fine, you two do your business," William replied.

"Don't wander too far away," Lake warned as he followed his fellow into the brush.

A minute later, both men stood to either side of a tree, relieving themselves.

"How far do you think he's going to get this time?" Lake asked his subordinate.

"Dunno, but you better hurry up," Markham advised, shaking himself.

"Hey, as long as we have a few minutes-?" Jackson inquired with a grin.

"Oi, you're a randy one today, aren't yer?" Will replied as his friend and occasional lover stepped around and grabbed his still exposed member and pulled him into a kiss. Will felt only a slight twinge of guilt not getting back to their charge immediately, as he reciprocated, but figured a few moments' play couldn't hurt. His wife had known he and Jackson fooled around on occasion, so he was less worried where she was concerned.

Jackson pushed his friend and subordinate against the tree and ground their exposed manhoods together as they continued to kiss, hands roaming. He was usually the one to initiate their play, but it was rare that Will could refuse his superior officer since joining Torchwood's Royal Detachment. Something about the man attracted him like no other since meeting his wife. He was just beginning to relax into the heat of the moment when they heard shots ring out. The lovers broke apart and gave each other a panicked look before racing towards the sound.

They had barely gone thirty yards before they collided with the other pair running towards the sound. Markham knocked the Doctor to the ground, sending them both sprawling, as Lake just missed colliding with Harkness.

"On your knees!" Lake commanded, holding his crossbolt at Jack. Jack stopped in his attempt to recover his companion and did as he was told.

"This one's out. I knocked him cold," Markham said, rubbing his head as he got to his feet next to the lean man in the trench coat. "Looks like he also hit his head on this tree?" He did a double take upon seeing Jack.

"Who are you?" Lake demanded of his prisoner.

"Just passing by, we heard the shots and came to see if someone needed help," he confessed. He thought better than to mention their companions at the moment, even if there was a chance they had been assaulted.

"No one gets on this property without being noticed," Lake informed him. "Where did you come from?"

"Well, that's a little harder to explain," Jack replied. "Almost as hard as the two of you," he smirked, glancing at the still exposed crotches of the two men. "Were we interrupting you in a private moment?"

"Shut up!" Lake ordered as Markham realized neither of them had bothered to tuck themselves in before running off.

"Not so fast there, big guy," Jack teased. "And don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone," he added with a wink.

Markham's cheeks flushed red as he corrected his situation. He then reached over to adjust Lake, who kept both hands on his weapon and the weapon trained on Jack.

"I wish I had a friend or two like you two," Jack snarked. "The Doc here doesn't play like that, but you could say I take on _all_ comers," he chuckled.

"On your feet," Lake ordered after Markham squared him away. "Who are you and what are you doing in the Royal Hunting Preserve?"

"_Royal_?" Jack asked as he slowly rose. "My name is Jack Harkness. Honestly, we did get lost and decided to get out and stretch our legs when we heard gunshots. We were merely on our way to lend assistance, and considering you two were in such a rush, I'm guessing you're not the perpetrators or, more likely, got -_ahem_- distracted in your duty, possibly allowing your charge to be injured. Am I right?"

Lake's face was red with fury, knowing the stranger spoke the truth and he and his companion could be in serious trouble. "Markham, stay with that man. Harkness, you better be telling the truth. Now come with me, we need to find the prince."

"_Prince_?" Jack asked as Lake followed him into the woods in the direction they had both been heading.

Markham knelt down and examined the unconscious man, appearing in the video as if he was talking to the newcomer. He then rubbed his temple again. The Doctor echoed the action in Greaves' dining room.

* * *

"Do you really think this Doctor chap can get us home, Gwen?" Rhys inquired after they had gone a short distance from the TARDIS.

She hesitated. "Well, Jack trusts him, so...I guess? I only met him briefly, once before. Over a videoconference."

"Jack trusts anyone he gives half a fancy," her husband groused. "We need to get back home to our kid, not go gallivanting around the universe."

"That's not fair to him," she scolded her husband. "I know Jack promised us we'd be back practically before we left, but I'm missing the baby, right now, too."

Rhys hugged her into his side. "Yeah, me too," he agreed. "Still, it's a nice forest for a picnic lunch or-"

The pair were suddenly distracted by sounds of a not too distant struggle. Gwen's police training kicked in and she ran towards it, giving Rhys no option but to follow as her back up.

They had barely gone ten yards when they came upon two large men wrestling a younger man to the ground.

"_Oi_! Stop that! Break it up!" Gwen shouted on instinct. She heard Rhys run up behind her, giving her a slight confidence boost.

The confidence disappeared as one of the wrestling men saw them and trained his bayonet at them. She instinctively dove behind a tree, pulling her husband to cover as two shots rang out. They heard one bullet ricochet off the tree, but not the other. When she peered around, she saw that the gunman had dropped to his knees and was grabbing himself. The other man was picking himself up off the forest floor, having been thrown away from his victim. She ran to help their victim, who had scrambled to appropriate a crossbolt for himself in the melee, the second bayonet lay discarded.

"Leave him be!" she shouted as she approached the combatants, ready for a fight. She hoped the red haired man on the ground would appreciate her distraction, if nothing else.

"This isn't any concern of yours," the standing assailant shouted at her. He started to advance on her, despite Rhys' protective stance behind her when an arrow whizzed in front of his face.

"I wouldn't think of it," the young man warned as another arrow rose out of the crossbolt's stock into place. "The next one goes between your eyes."

The man gave it a second thought, then grabbed his groin injured friend and they took off into the woods.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked as Rhys helped the young man to his feet.

"I'm fine, thanks to you," he replied, taking a look at the pair. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Rhys Williams, and this is my wife, Gwen," he replied, reaching out to shake the man's hand.

The young man seemed offended by the gesture, leaving Rhys awkwardly hanging for a moment. "Don't you know who I am?"

"I'm sorry?" he replied, dumbfounded.

"We're kind of lost, to be honest," Gwen jumped in.

The young man eyed her for a second. "You've had training, which is more than I can say for your husband," he scoffed.

"Now just a minute-" he started.

"_Rhys_!" she cut him off. "I'm sorry, sir, but we really are lost, and don't understand what you're on about?"

"You seriously don't know where you are?" he asked.

The couple shared a confused look and realized something was amiss. Before they could ask, they heard trampling through the underbrush and the young man drew his crossbolt while Gwen quickly retrieved the bayonet and also trained it in the direction of the disturbance. Two men came running out. One raised his crossbolt when he saw Gwen with the bayonet, but his companion grabbed it and pushed it down, indicating he knew her.

"Jack!" Gwen and Rhys echoed, glad to see someone they knew.

"Commander Lake?" the young man acknowledged his companion. "Where in Hades have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Sire," the man panted as he reached the trio. "We got held up talking a moment, then ran into this man and his friend when we heard the shots," he motioned to Harkness.

"I'm fine, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, here," the young man replied. "They distracted my attackers enough that I was able to defend myself. Two men, they took off that direction," he pointed.

Gwen started to correct him about her surname, but decided against it. "Where's the Doctor?" she asked instead, realizing his absence. The other three men shared confused looks at her inquiry.

"He's okay, Gwen," Jack consoled her. "We _literally_ ran into Mr. Lake, here, and his companion, who knocked the Doctor out for a few moments. We can go catch up with them now that we know you're all okay."

She shot the other newcomer a dirty look as Rhys cut in, "Wait a minute, did he call you 'sire'?"

"You really don't recognize me?" the young man asked again. "I am Prince William John Francis Hampton Jones Wyndham, Crown Prince of Albion. You lot are trespassing on my family's royal hunting preserve."

"Well, that's a mouthful," Jack quipped to Gwen's annoyance before he realized what the man had said he was prince of.

"We're so sorry, your highness," Rhys apologized, ignoring Jack. "Like we said, we were a bit lost and-"

Jack interrupted his friend. "Wait, I'm sorry, did you just say you were the Crown Prince of _Albion_?" The couple both stopped and stared at each other in shock at this realization.

The Prince shared a confused look with Lake. "Of course, where else would we be?"

Jack turned to his friends. "Guys, I don't think we're in Kansas, anymore. This might explain our turbulence."

"Wait, what does this mean for us?" Rhys asked. "When are we, Jack?"

"Kansas? When?" the Prince asked. "Did you just say _when_?"

Jack grimaced, annoyed that he had caught Rhys' slip. He turned to face the Crown Prince. "Yes, I'm afraid so, your Highness," he admitted. "It seems we're from a parallel Earth to yours and apparently have gotten a bit sidetracked in our travels and wound up here quite by accident."

"Well, it's proved quite lucky for me, my new friends," the royal chuckled. "Come, let's find your other friend and see if he's alright, shall we?"

Lake started to protest, but William brushed him off, heading back in the direction his guard had come from. A minute later, the group found themselves in the small clearing that Jack and Lake had left Markham and the Doctor in. Markham leaned against a tree still rubbing his temple until he saw his two companions, then stood at attention, a crumpled form at his feet.

"Doctor!" Gwen cried out, running up to the injured man. She knelt and cradled his head, immediately checking for his vitals.

Markham gave a start at her exclamation. "I'm sorry, miss, we collided while running and I knocked him into a tree, knocking him right out," he explained, he gave a sheepish glance to his liege.

"Why would you call your friend 'Doctor'?" William asked.

Jack misunderstood the question. "He's not, but he does know a lot about, well, a _lot_ of things," Jack explained. "You don't happen to have a first aid kit with you, do you? Or at least a cold compress and some aspirin? He'll probably need it when he wakes up."

"No," Lake answered, "but I can run back to the castle and fetch a healer?"

"Make it so, Lake, and hurry back," the prince ordered.

"Are you sure, sire?"

"Yes, now _go_," he replied. "I've got Markham to protect me, just in case." Lake nodded, handing the second recovered bayonet to Markham, and ran off into the woods. "I _can_ trust you lot, can't I?" he asked Jack.

"Yes, your highness," Jack answered. "We're part of a group called Torchwood back where we come from. The Wales branch as a matter of-"

"_Torchwood_?" Markham exclaimed.

"You have Torchwood here?" Jack inquired.

"My associates are the heads of Torchwood Royal Division," the prince informed them. "In fact, Markham here is my personal bodyguard. Usually." He said this last in an aggravated tone.

Markham blushed slightly at this and gave Jack a slight shake of the head, hoping he wouldn't reveal the whole truth of their initial meeting. Jack winked back at him, smirking his assurance.

He was glad he had as he noticed movement behind Markham when he did. "How many did you say were in your party?" he asked, trying to stay casual.

"Just the three of us," the prince replied. "This is a private reserve and-"

"Get down!" Jack yelled as he drew his gun and fired at the man sneaking up behind Markham. Markham dove to the opposite direction Jack had aimed, turned and brought his own crossbolt to bear. Rhys covered the prince and the Doctor as Gwen started scanning the underbrush for more perpetrators with her bayonet.

They heard someone running away in the brush. "Gwen, follow me. Markham, stay with your Prince," Jack ordered and headed toward the man he had shot at.

"Oi!"

"Rhys, stay with the Doctor!" Gwen snapped as she followed Jack.

"Wife's in charge, eh?" Markham quipped, surveying the area. Rhys shot him a dirty look. "No worries, my wife was Special Services, too, before we had kids."

"I'm surprised you had time, between watching me and hanging about with Jackson," the prince teased his protector, while also scanning the woods around them for another attack. No one noticed the stirring form at their feet. His wrist-comm chirped and he answered it in a groan, "Yes, Mother?"

"What's going on out there?" she demanded. "Lake just came tearing in, demanding a healer? Are you alright?"

Ignoring her, Markham repeated "Time?" to himself, as a sense of déjà vu took hold of him. A dream barely remembered came flooding back: Three men in his darkened bedroom, two stood at the foot of the bed as the third sat down beside him.

_I'm sorry, it has to be this way,_ the man sobbed, reaching out and rubbing his right arm and shoulder, his own in a sling. _We have no choice, it must be done. When the time comes-_ The man reached up behind his head and pulled their foreheads together, he could feel the hot tears before the man kissed him. The other two men began to protest. Markham looked into his own eyes, his own face, then turned to the larger man at the foot of the bed, his piercing cobalt blue eyes bore into his soul. They seemed ancient beyond belief. _When the time comes...protect the prince...Regent...the world depends on you._

"When the time comes," Markham again repeated to himself.

"Time? Time for what?" the Doctor asked, suddenly standing straight up from where he had been laying. He leaned over the prince's shoulder and peered at the small vid-screen on his wrist. "Oh, hello there. Am I late for some-?"

In that instant, Markham reacted to the unexpected intrusion, reflexively turning and firing. The knife tip of the bayonet pierced the Doctor's chest even as the shot rang out.

Time froze for a long moment. Rhys' jaw worked, but he was unable to make a sound. Jack and Gwen had turned back to the others upon hearing the shot and saw their friend had risen.

"-thing? Oh, blimey," the Doctor said, examining his shirt as it slowly soaked with blood. "Right between my hearts." He looked up to Markham. "Well done, you." He crumpled back onto the forest floor. Markham froze in horror at what had just happened.

"D-D-_DOCTOR_!" Rhys finally managed to scream as Jack and Gwen began running back to their companions. Markham suddenly found himself tackled into a tree, knocking the breath from him, and then thrown to the ground by the equally burly Rhys, but Jack grabbed his arm before he could start wailing on the royal guard.

"Don't, Rhys," he warned. "He'll be okay! Trust me!"

Rhys looked into Jack's determined eyes. He felt his own burning hot in anger. "What do you mean!" he asked. "He just _killed_ the Doctor! We're trapped here!" He glanced back to their fallen comrade to see his wife once again kneeling over the Time Lord's head, tears began pour down her eyes, unsure what to do to help their friend.

"We need to get him back to the TARDIS! _Now!_" Jack ordered, pulling Rhys off Markham. He quickly organized the four men to each take a limb as they carried him back to the time machine, Jack and Markham each grabbing a leg as Rhys and the prince each grabbed an arm, with William trying to hold the Doctor's head up with one hand as they went. Gwen followed, fighting tears as she kept watch for their assailants.

"What is _that_?" William asked as they neared the blue police call box.

"The TARDIS," Jack replied. "I'm sorry, your highness, but this is as far as I can allow you two," he informed him as they set the Doctor's body down. Jack fumbled in the man's pockets and pulled out the key to unlock the door, continuing, "I'm sorry I can't explain further, but we can heal him if we get him inside."

"What's happening to him? He's glowing?" Markham exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the golden light beginning to emanate from the chest wound.

Jack went to him and grabbed his head, forcing him to look him in the eye. "He's going to be okay. Trust me." Markham gave a slight nod. His head buzzed again, he sensed -no, he _knew-_ Jack was telling the truth. He didn't understand, but had no choice but to trust this stranger he injured into his friend's care.

Jack turned and motioned to Rhys to grab the Doctor's other arm as they picked him up again and carried him upright into the box.

Gwen lagged behind long enough to thank them for helping them and they would return shortly before following her friends inside.

"How in Hades can they all fit inside that tiny box?" Markham wondered.

William eyed it a moment. "I got a glimpse inside as they took the Doctor in. It's a tesseract, bigger on the inside," he informed his friend. "By the way, you've got a bit of blood on you."

Markham glanced down at the red staining his hands. "You're not just talking metaphorically, are ya?" He glanced over the young prince. "So do you, your Highness," he replied. The dream still nagged at the edge of his consciousness.

"I think we all do, Will," he said in a somber tone.

"So...what now?"

"Now? We wait," he replied. After a minute he realized, "I guess I should tell Lake we won't be needing that healer after all?"

* * *

The video ended as the Doctor's few memories of the previous day's events filled in what happened next inside the TARDIS and castle. He glared at the man across from him. "How did you get all that footage?"

"Please, there's barely a square inch not covered by cameras on that land," Greaves replied. "Most of the trees are 'bugged,' as they say."

"So your inside man gave you this footage?"

"You could call it one of the perks of my position," the grey haired man smirked.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me who your inside man is, are you?" Lord Greaves smiled, so the Doctor tried another tack. "How did you get him smuggled out of the castle?"

"You haven't figured that out by now?" he replied, reaching over and ruffling the ginger mop of the young man with them. "_You_ did it, my dear Doctor. He was already placed in his carriage when you used it to escape. My men simply followed and retrieved him when you parked it a few blocks away," he explained.

The Doctor harrumphed, realizing he had inadvertently played a role in the subversion. "I have a pretty good idea of what's going on now," he informed his new acquaintance. "The question is, what are you going to do to me to keep me quiet?" His tongue-no, his head felt thick, suddenly.

"_Do_? My dear Doctor," he chuckled. "I've already done it."

"W-What are you talking about?" he asked, as he tried to rise, but found his legs weak beneath him. He fell back into the chair. "W-What did you do?"

"You do have quite the appetite, Doctor," Greaves noted. "Not surprising, considering one of your, shall we say, stature? I do try not to offend you larger fellows like the Regent, but sometimes it is hard not to gloat."

The Doctor tried to focus on the man's voice, but it sounded as if it were coming from another room. He grabbed for the prince, but found himself off balance and fell to the floor, out of view of Greaves. He tried to rise and grabbed onto the closest thing, which turned out to be the young prince's leg. He looked up and made eye contact for a moment before the blackness consumed him.

The prince sat watching him, unmoving.

Greaves pressed a button on his console. A door opened and the two men from the video appeared, one still nursing a wounded arm from Jack's gun.

"Take him to the dungeon, and make ready the Regent's accommodations for when he arrives," he instructed them.

As soon as they had left, he turned to the young man beside him. "All that's left now is making sure you do as I say, hmm?" he gloated.

The prince regarded him with dull, glassy eyes.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: casting

I was finishing writing the first draft of this chapter prior to Matt Smith's first season as the Doctor 11 (s5? s6? whichever) began, so the original/earlier(?) Doctor presented here was written more with Tennant still in mind, as I only had Smith's introductory scene to go on. Heck, as noted earlier, you could probably imagine Gleeson as my regenerated Doctor (13?) if you want?

(I added in the quick scene with him popping over William's shoulder to greet Miranda later, then pulled it, then re-added it, trying to make the ch2 scene/explanation work better. Let me know if you think it should stay or not!)

Lord Greaves - I know John Hurt played Lord Graves in _Ralph, _but I was thinking someone taller, more along the lines of maybe Ian McKellen, to be honest. You'll see why soon enough. Spoilers!

Also, as far as Torchwood continuity is concerned, this takes place prior to s4/The New World. Especially since we have only a few details at this time. (US filming, STARZ co-broadcast, unconfirmed plot/casting.)

Please leave a review, even if you think it sucks Boe's third tentacle...thingamabob!


	4. Revelation

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 4 - Revelation

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/others, OCs, and counting…

* * *

Gwen Cooper tried her suite's door again. Still locked. She turned and glared at her husband, still groggy from lack of sleep as he pulled on his shoes.

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one who locked us in or set off the alarms," he groused.

She strode up to him. "I'm just worried that Jack or the Doctor have done something horribly wrong and we're all going to be executed for it."

Rhys scoffed. "Please, this is Jack we're talking ab-oh, hell, you're probably right."

She sat down next to him on the bed as they both nervously waited for word of their companions. He put one arm around her shoulders and the other hand on top of the ones clenched in her lap as he kissed her head.

* * *

"W-Will?" Markham wheezed as the ginger man knelt over him, straddling his torso and pinning his arms to the side. He positioned his feet so they were pointed into Markham's crotch, forcing him to spread his legs and pressing uncomfortably against him as he shifted his weight. If the man hadn't put a bullet in his shoulder seconds earlier, he might have enjoyed a bit of rough foreplay (even though he would still claim even now that Jack Harkness had thoroughly drained him earlier). However, this situation only added to the pain he was feeling. "How could you-?"

"I'm not William," he said simply, drawing the barrel of Jack's gun along the bristled jaw line of the Royal Guard. "I liked you, Will. I really did." He stopped and looked the burly man in the eyes. "You have his scent on you. Tell me what you did, Will. Tell me, was he better than-"

"Get off me," he pleaded, fighting the pain spreading from his right shoulder. He could feel the creeping wet warmth beneath him. He tried not to think about it.

"You don't get it, do you, Will?" the young man asked. "You're already dead," he cooed.

Markham's eyes widened in fear.

"It's a shame, really. I would have liked to have kept you as a personal pet," he shrugged, "but you will get the pleasure of knowing you won't have to live with what's coming next." He held Will's eyes for a moment. "Besides, even your name is a reminder of _him_, and I can't have that in my New World Order, now can I?"

Will Markham's eyes narrowed. "W-what are you talking about?"

The young man smiled and leaned closer, seeming to inhale the growing panic emanating from the wounded man. "Simple, really. I'm going to take the Crown and then we're going to destroy the world."

Markham caught his breath as the man straddling him laughed, then forced a kiss on his lips. Will shook his head, rejecting this stranger with the familiar face. He finally settled for kissing down the bodyguard's thick, stubbled neck, continuing to inhale his scent while he could.

"We could have had a full life with each other," the double whispered into his ear. "I had a collar already picked out for you."

Will fought the urge to retch. This had to be the Other, the 'clone' they had tried to prevent from taking William's place. He had given in to Will's advances a few times on the pretense of exploring his sexuality, or had that been this double? Or had this man merely seen recordings of him and Lake, or even with his own wife? Had he made Markham into some fantasy lover delusion? Will couldn't begin to understand. Besides -and more importantly- _when_ had the switch been made? This man had intimated he apparently switched places with William at least once before. He knew it had been Prince Will with them in the forest and the return trip to the castle grounds and later, dinner and their conference, following. The prince had rarely been out of his sight in that time. It was only later, when he and Jack-

_Jack!_ Will realized Jack had taken several hits from this man and still kept coming. Where was he now? The boy was kissing his neck again as he lewdly ground their bodies together, so Will took the opportunity to squirm as a way of checking out the dim light of the room for Harkness. His injured shoulder was wracked with pain as he did, but he endured it. He saw a shadow slowly rise near his feet. How had the man been able to survive being stabbed and electrocuted this long? That would have to wait for another time as he saw what was happening.

"Do you two want some privacy?"

The Other-Prince stopped and looked into Will's eyes, but he shut them. "What did you say?"

"Get off me," he grunted again, keeping the man's attention for a few moments more. He was having trouble breathing now, and it wasn't from the external weight. Suddenly, he felt the man being pulled back off of him.

"I said get the hell off my friend!" Jack announced as he put the young man in a sleeper headlock and pulled him off the wounded guard. The ginger started thrashing, flailing wildly at the recuperated Time Agent. "Go ahead, fight all you want. I can wait," he urged their assailant.

When the duplicate had finally succumbed to Jack's sleeper hold, he tossed him to the side and knelt down to tend to Markham. "Will! Are you alright? Is it bad?"

"Feels like he clipped a lung, mate," Will wheezed. "How are you still going?"

"Long story, no time. We need to get you some medical attention," Jack said, inspecting the wound. "Where's the hospital wing? You mentioned healers before?"

Will shook his head. "No, something's gone wrong. We've been compromised. Can't trust anyone."

"You're going to die without medical attention," Jack told him.

Markham waved him off. "Find the Prince, make sure William's the right one they Crown tomorrow." He grabbed Jack, pulling him close. "It's up to you and your friends, Jack," he coughed. "Protect the Prince and the Regent until the Coronation. The world depends on you." The words sounded intimately familiar as he said them.

Jack forced a smile. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Markham smiled back. "One more thing." Jack nodded. "Tell my wife she was right."

"Let me get you to help, Will," Jack insisted. "Don't make her a widow."

Will forced a raspy laugh and pulled Jack closer. Jack could hear the blood in his lungs as Will whispered in his ear.

"You're sure?" he asked, looking into the man's eyes.

Will nodded, mouthed "thank you" and kissed Jack before falling back, unconscious. Jack picked him up and placed him in the Prince's bed, using what little he had at hand as a makeshift bandage. He then turned and trussed up the other man and threw him over his shoulder, stepping over the fallen guard, he kicked the door open and headed out. The other two guards that had come with them were nowhere to be found, yet Jack still found himself on the wrong end of trouble with a familiar face.

* * *

Toshiko Sato waited until Jackson Lake had left the suite before she allowed Lady Miranda to leave her Safe Room. The first thing Miranda wanted was to know her son was safe. Tosh paged Markham's wrist-comm. "There's no answer," she admitted.

"Why would that be?" Miranda inquired.

Tosh thought for a moment. "The only reason we would lose communication is if we were dead and the body gone cold or the comms were sabotaged. Since it hasn't even been ten minutes since Will was here-" she trailed off, almost afraid to admit the castle could be under attack.

"Find my son, Toshiko," Miranda ordered her. "Make sure he's alive."

"Stay in your Safe Room," Tosh replied. "Do not leave until I give you our password. Do you understand?"

Miranda nodded and returned to her room. Tosh quickly dressed and locked the suite behind her, just in case. She found new guards posted in the hall outside.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

"Orders, ma'am," one guard explained. "We're to keep the Regent's family lockdown safe until after the Coronation, tomorrow."

Tosh wasn't sure what to think. This could be a necessary precaution, but she would have been given a briefing on it. She decided to play along for the time being.

"Very well, the Lady Miranda is not feeling well," she lied. "Do not let anyone in without my permission. That includes the Regent and the Prince, himself. No one, not even Lake. Do you understand me?"

"Our orders were to guard the Lady Miranda, ma'am."

"It is my sworn duty to protect her with my life. Therefore, you take your orders directly from me," she corrected him. "Is that understood, soldier?"

They saluted. "Ma'am! Yes, Ma'am!"

Tosh wasn't sure to believe him, but decided to take her chances. She had to check on the boy's quarters. She turned on her heel and marched off to her destination. As she entered the Prince's private hall and neared the rooms, the door kicked open. The man who had earlier identified himself as 'Captain Jack Harkness' exited with a body slung over his shoulder. It looked to her like the Crown Prince.

"Don't you move!" she ordered, pointing her weapon at him. "Put the prince down! Slowly!"

Jack sighed and turned to look at her with pleading eyes. "Tosh, I know you don't know me, but I know you," he said. "Trust me on this."

"I'm not trusting anybody right now," she replied, noticing what seemed to be a smudge of blood on his lips.

Jack's face went slack. Will Markham had been right, something else had happened. How deep were they in, right now? "How's the prince's mother? Is she alright?"

"Put the Prince down and I'll tell you," she ordered.

"This isn't the Prince, Tosh," Jack informed her. "It's the double. Somehow, they managed to switch off overnight."

"Yeah, right, and I'm the Queen of China," she shot back. "I'm not going to tell you again: put. the Prince. down."

"We're wasting precious time, Toshiko," Jack warned her. "This is not the Prince and Markham is dying in there."

This took her by surprise. "W-What?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "He said you were right."

Her face went slack. "oh my gods!" She ran past Jack into the bedroom. "Will? Will, wake up!" she pleaded with her husband. His breath was weak and shallow. She could see a thin trail of bloody spittle on his cheek.

"We need to get him medical attention, Tosh, but he thinks the whole castle has been compromised," Jack told her as he dropped the Other-Prince's body into a chair. "His wrist-comm seems to be down?"

"It's not the only one," she replied, fighting back tears over her husband's body. She turned her head towards Jack. "Lake told me to keep you and your friends away from the Family, but suddenly, I think that you are our only hope."

Jack came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "The Toshiko Sato I know was pretty smart, too, but I'm going to need your help doing this. Is there anyone you can trust?"

She nodded. "One of the medics and I go way back. I can trust her to help heal Will without Lake finding out."

"It's not Suzie or Owen, is it?" he inquired.

"No, her name is Martha," she replied. "Martha Jones."

He smiled. "That would have been my second guess."

"You stay here and guard 'His Highness', I'll fetch Martha," she said before turning to leave. "And Jack?" He turned to look at her. "Did he say anything else?"

"Ianto's a good man," he told her, giving her a sad smile. "I can vouch for that."

She gave him a puzzled look, but smiled back at him and giving her husband a last longing look before hurrying off.

* * *

"We should be landing at Heathrow in about ten minutes," the pilot noted over the intercom. "The weather is clear and a balmy 75 degrees."

"Thanks, Cap Norris," Charles Hampton Jones replied before turning to his aide de camp. "That is Norris, right?"

"Yes, Sir," Ianto Jones replied. "Capt. Lapidus is the co-pilot, today. His voice is gruffer."

"What's wrong with that?" he winked, mock-offended in his own gruff tone, as he strummed the guitar in his lap.

Ianto bristled at the accent, which sounded more like "Whut 'rong wit dat?" He always reverted back to a more Cajun influence after spending time back home. Ianto suspected he often did it on purpose as he sighed and replied, "Nothing, Sir," not missing a beat and handing the Regent the day's schedule.

Charles tossed it aside and slapped a large hand on his assistant's back, getting a stifled 'oof' as always. "That's what I like about you, Jonesy. You're the stiffest of stiff upper lips." Upon seeing the man's displeasure, he confessed, "Don't worry, my hands are clean and I didn't wrinkle your jacket."

Ianto forced a half-smile and went back to his paperwork.

"After all this hubbub and pageantry, why don't you take a couple weeks off?" he suggested.

Ianto gulped. "Sir?"

"g'wan. My job will be over, so you can take a couple weeks to yourself. Go relax, do whatever," he goaded. "Take the lady out to Aruba or Jamaica, some nudie beach or wherever. My treat."

"W-well, that-that's very nice of you, Sir, but I really must get the Prince's schedules in order, and besides, I don't really have anyone-"

"Psh!" the Regent scoffed. "Oh please, everybody _knows_ about you and Tosh. Will don't mind, so, y'know, go get drunk and get-" he mimicked gyrating his hips in his seat, fondling his guitar as if it were a lover, finishing in a lewd tone "-_laid_. Uh-huh! ooh, baby, that's what Big Daddy like! _Yowza!_" He bumped elbows with his prim and proper assistant, who only got annoyed when it knocked papers to the floor. "Right darlin'?" he turned and asked Cindy, who was retrieving the last of their drink cups before landing.

"Whatever you say, Champ," she replied with a wink as he handed her Ianto's unfinished coffee mug over his protestation. She had long ago learned to take the Regent's good natured, flirtatious attitude in stride, unafraid of letting him know when he was being inappropriate. He liked having her around for that reason. Her predecessor, Tegan, was the same way, he had told her.

He blew her a kiss in return before turning back to his assistant. "Well? Whaddya say?"

Ianto's face turned red and his mouth started working, but no sound came out. "I-I-I-um, that is-" He began shuffling papers.

"What are ya, part fish?" the large man teased. "Like I said, Will's okay with you and Tosh, and it's my treat. Hell, I'll send Will along just to make sure you don't even _touch_ a piece of paper!" He leaned closer. "Except any 'papers' you stuff in some _g-strings _that is!" he guffawed.

"W-well, that's nice of you Sir, but totally unnecessary," he protested. "I-I certainly wouldn't dream of taking time away from William and Toshiko's marriage much less-"

"Dude, unclench," he chuckled. "My boy's already got a staff ready to tend to his every need, and what little help they need for the transition, I can handle myself. I did run a successful business before y'all came lookin' for me, y'know," he reminded the uptight man.

"Be that as it may, Sir, there will be details that I can handle and-"

"It's settled. Next week, Tosh is taking you boys to the getaway of her choice. Will can chaperone to make sure you _don't work_ on your vacation," Charles insisted. "Hell, you might get lucky and he'll teach you a few moves," he winked.

Before Ianto could protest further, Norris clicked on the "_Fasten Seatbelts_" sign and announced their final approach, forcing Ianto to hurriedly stash all his now scattered paperwork and buckle in as Charles placed his guitar in it's case.

He still argued his job came first over such 'trivial details' like a vacation. Charles ignored him and texted Toshiko and Will they were on vacation as of the following week.

He glanced back at his wrist-comm PDA a moment. "Hmm, either this thing ain't working, or they didn't go through?"

Ianto held his hand out. "Are you sure you sent it right?"

"Yes, I'm sure I sent it right," he mocked. "Here, I'll send it to you so you can add it to your calendar."

Ianto glanced at his own PDA with a curious expression.

"What, didn't that one go through, either?"

"It might just be reception because of the landing, or it might be something else," he muttered to himself.

Charles scoffed again. "Paranoid much?"

Ianto gave him a stern look. "A little paranoia is a good thing, Sire. Especially for the next few days."

Charles gave him an annoyed look out of the corner of his eye as the man tucked the device back into his wrist-comm.

After their private hover-jet had landed and taxied to their secluded royal hangar, Cindy allowed them to get up to disembark. Charles strapped his wrist-comm back on his thick forearm, then grabbed his suit jacket and tie to dress as Ianto gathered up his business papers and such. Charles then invited the crew to come back to Wyndham Palace for the celebrations, but only Norris could get away. It also helped that he could fly the hover-copter there, Charles insisting on co-piloting, as usual.

As they neared the palace, Ianto sensed something amiss. "Was the Guard stepped up today as well?" he asked, leaning forward.

"Aren't you supposed to know these things?" Charles asked.

"They were supposed to be," Ianto informed him, "but I barely see anyone patrolling the grounds?"

"Hardly anyone was on duty at Heathrow, either," Norris added.

"You sure they ain't keeping it all on the down low, undercovers and such?" Charles asked. "It's not like people don't know what's going on."

"That's exactly why they should have stepped up the uniformed security, Sir," Ianto informed him.

"Well, nothing we can do up here. Set 'er down and we'll talk to Lake and Markham about it," Charles decided.

"Torchwood Tower's not responding, and sensors say the palace shielding is still up," Norris replied. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, we gotta land, might as well set it down nearby," he replied. "The hunting preserve should be fine."

"As you wish," Norris said and corrected his course, setting the hover-copter down a mile from the palace in a clearing in the hunting preserve. The trio couldn't help but notice the large blue box further down as they circled to land.

"Is that a new guard post, Ianto?"

"I have no record of it, Sir," he replied. "I'm sure we can inquire of Lake and Markham when we get inside."

No sooner had they set down than a small squad of guards filtered out of the woods and surrounded the small aircraft.

"Well, I'm glad someone is finally recognizing the fact I need protection," Charles greeted one of the squad as he disembarked the copter. "What the Hades is going on? No one would answer our hails?"

"Sir, you will come with me," the squad leader informed him, leading the Regent to a waiting carriage.

His demeanor instantly set off alarm between the three men, especially when several of the guard herded Ianto and Norris away from the copter and into another carriage. A few fleeting glances between Charles and Ianto were all that was needed for them to communicate what needed to be done.

"What's all the hubbub, bub?" Charles asked in a forced smile as their carriage pulled away from the landing site.

"My orders are to convey you to the rightful heir of the Kingdom, sir."

"My son?"

The squad leader did not reply. The rest of the ride was spent in silence, and Charles was not surprised by their destination: Lord Greaves' residence. He also saw that his companions had not followed them. He trusted Ianto Jones to do what was needed.

* * *

Toshiko quickly ushered Martha into the Prince's suite, where she did not question why they apparently had the Crown Prince bound and gagged in a chair while she tended to Markham's wounds.

"Who in Hades still uses _bullets_?" she asked, injecting a sedative after pulling the slug from the guard's shoulder. Tosh sat opposite, holding her slumbering husband's other hand.

"Well, what _do_ you use here?" Jack inquired.

She gave Jack a double take. "Tasers, stun bolts, crossbolts, and sed-darts," Martha rattled off, giving him a questioning look. "You sound like a Colonist, but you aren't, are you?"

Jack smiled. "Is it just me, or are you all smarter in this world?"

"This world?"

Jack sighed. "Long story short, ladies? My friends and I were time traveling, and somehow 'jumped' time lines. You two, among others, were-_are_ friends of ours, back home." He mentally kicked himself for that slip. "However, among other things, the technology here and the Royal Family are completely different from what we know."

Both women caught his correction from past to present tense, but decided not to press the issue. "How do you intend to get home, then?" Martha inquired.

Jack shrugged. "Hopefully, find the spot where we skipped over and back track from there. In the time I come from, time travel is still an imperfect science, accomplished with luck as much as technology." He held up his armband. "I did happen to notice a lot of these going around. I'm curious as to their origins, considering mine is from the 51st Century."

"These wrist-comms have been common tech for a good thirty-odd years, now," Tosh explained. "They were invented by Lord Greaves. The Royals and other Elite have the most advanced and secure versions, but you can walk into any market and buy a cheap one. They've been commercially available for longer than we've been around."

"At least," Martha agreed. "Quite the fashion accessory back then, for those who could afford them."

"This world's version of our cell phones, eh? No Steve Jobs or Wozniak, or Bill Gates to reinvent the tech back then, huh?"

"Bill who?" Tosh asked. "You know Jobs and the Woz? Big fan, me. Woz is a total Woof," she chuckled, glancing at her husband, and rubbing his leg. Jack smiled at this, remembering his earlier exchange with the newly regenerated Doctor.

Martha laughed. "Everybody knows you're a Bear hag, Tosh, or should I say Goldilocks? The question is what you see in _Ianto_?" Jacked perked up at this.

"Ianto is just-," she paused, blushed, and chuckled.

"Ianto is _Ianto_," Jack finished for her, remembering his late lover.

"You know Ianto Jones, too?" Martha inquired, ready to rib her friend about what a slag her lover was.

"Yeah," he replied somberly. The girls knew not to press the issue from his tone. "_But_ we are changing the subject. Who's taken over the Palace, and how do we regain control before the Regent returns and/or the Coronation tomorrow?"

"Well, the Regent should be back by, well-" Martha glanced to the Prince's bedside alarm clock, "-_now_?"

"Ladies, I think we need a rescue plan," Jack announced. "Tosh, do you know which quarters my friends were put in?"

"Three rooms were set aside in the guest wing yesterday," she informed him. "Will let me know which one he spent the night in." She raised an annoyed eyebrow at him. Jack smirked, unembarrassed, glancing down at the slumbering form of his most recent lover and her husband.

Ten minutes later, Tosh found herself in the guest wing. Seeing two rooms under guard, she chose the one with two guards, Jack having mentioned Lake had positioned one guard outside the room the Doctor had been assigned to.

"Her majesty wants a word with our guests," she informed the pair.

"No one gets in without permission from Commander Lake," one guard informed her.

"Her majesty outranks Lake and myself," she reminded him, "and I am acting under orders from _her_."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sato-" he began. He never got to finish as Toshiko quickly dispatched both men in one swift move.

"I'm sorry, too," she said, stepping over them and unlocking the door. "You two, come with me if you want to live," she ordered the couple inside.

"_Tosh?" _came the amazed duet from the couple who quickly joined her in the hall as the third guard succumbed to her attack.

"Save it for later, we need to regroup with Jack and Martha," she told them as she headed back the way they had come. She hoped they could pull this off as Gwen echoed "_Martha?" _behind her.

Elsewhere, Jack and Martha carried the now sedated royal double along, draped in Jack's coat as Jack had taken the jacket of the fallen Palace Guard as a temporary disguise to cover his bloody shirt.

They had barely gotten out of the Royal Quarters wing when another guard stopped them. "What happened to the Prince?"

"Totally trashed," Martha lied. "The pressure of the big day tomorrow was getting to him, so now we're taking him down to medical to sober him up before Champ finds out," she continued.

Luckily for them, this particular guard wasn't under specific orders from Lake. "Allow me?" he offered to assist. A panicked glance between the two conspirators before they allowed him to do so.

Once they had gotten him to the medical wing, they reminded their friend not to say anything for the Prince's sake. When he proved hesitant, Jack promised to 'make it worth his while,' later. After a brief hesitation, he finally agreed, letting Jack know he liked it rough. "The rougher the better," Jack teased back.

When the guard finally left, they got down to business. Martha prepped the drugs she intended to use on him to get his story as Jack tied him down after taking his coat back and draping it over a chair.

"Wake up, sunshine," Jack said, slapping the double lightly.

"You're going to die for this, you know," he growled, trying to focus on Jack's smirking face. "You and all your friends. We'll take your magic box and strip it of all it's secrets. We've done it before, we'll do it again."

"It's not my 'magic box', it's the Doctor's," Jack informed him. "It doesn't like to be handled by anyone but him."

"It's sentient, then? AI?"

"From what I hear, it was old before the Doc stole it years ago," he replied. "But you're changing the subject. First topic: how did you switch off this morning? Where's the real Prince?" he asked as Martha injected the first needle into him.

"I _am_ the Real Prince," he claimed. "That poser was nothing but eye candy for our adoring public."

Jack slapped him. "Where's the Real Prince?"

"Right here," he smiled.

"Where is Prince _William_?"

The double smiled crazily. "Ate him up, now I am him and he is me, as we are we, as ever we shall be. Forever and ever and ever."

Jack paused. "He's feeling the drugs now, he shouldn't be lying."

"He's telling the truth, but it's a riddle," Martha noted.

"He's quoting the Beatles. You do have the Beatles here?" he asked, realizing she may not understand when she gave him a quizzical look.

"Music group, big from the Sixties on in my world, helped establish rock and roll," he explained. "Turned the world on it's ear. Lennon, McCartney, Ringo?"

"Don't be daft, of course we have the Beatles here," she replied. "The Regent is a big music fan. As for the Beatles, Pete's cute, but I'm a Johnny Cash fan, so I'm not totally versed in the Beatles catalog."

"It's Johnny or the Beatles, here, huh? No Elvis Presley?"

"There was an Aron Presley, and an Elvis Costello?"

"Different twin survived, here? Too bad, E was great back in the day," he mused, looking over their prisoner.

"No, Da, I can do this," he slurred. "I'm good enough. I can handle this on my own," he insisted.

Jack and Martha looked at each other in surprise. Jack bent down, "Tell me the plan again."

"I switch places, take the crown, then play along for a few months until they see I'm doing a good job. Then we change the nuclear access codes, set the bombs off in Moscow, Shanghai, Kyoto, Toronto, New Amsterdam, Cape Girardeau, Los Angeles, Oahu, Toronto, Rio, Panama City, Capetown, Chennai, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Ilia, Vatica, Sydney, and Hague. The shattered world turns to us for help, we rule over them with an iron fist."

The pair had matching looks of horror on their faces at the extent of the devastation. Jack realized several of the cities mentioned lay on fault lines in his world. He swallowed hard before continuing. "Very good, my son. Now when do we set the bombs off?"

"Winter Solstice Day," he replied. "You said it would be appropriate since the Regent dies on his birthday, on Summer Solstice he dies at midnight."

Martha reeled back, dumbstruck. "_no!_"

Jack checked his emotions. "And where will we see him meet his fate?"

"The ceremony is scheduled at the Altar of Glastonbury, as it always is."

Jack looked to Martha. "Glastonbury? Does he mean Stonehenge?"

She nodded.

"The Sword of Slayers lies there," the faux-prince continued. "It will feed on his blood as it has all those who betray the true lineage of the Kings of Albion."

"This does definitely not happen in my world," Jack informed Martha. "And not here, if I can help it." He turned back to the prisoner, "Tell me more about the sword."

"Only the Pure Blood can handle it," he explained. "It moves for no man but The Chosen King."

"The Sword in the Stone?" Jack asked. "The sword is _Excalibur_?"

"That's just a legend!" Martha exclaimed. "Arthur, Merlin, the Knights of Avalon, it's all Legend and Myth!"

The young man nodded. "The descendants of Arthur will rule as they have always ruled," he continued. "Only the True Merovingian Kings rule. As it has always been, as it shall always be. Even Pippin and Charlemagne fell before the Sword. They were not pure enough to wield it. No False King can defy it's power, not the Sicilian, not the Austrian, not the Transian, not the Mongol, not the Egyptian. The Purity is the Strength and the Power of Albion."

Jack felt like retching, he was so disgusted with this man and whoever was behind him. "How do we stop this plan? How do we end it?"

"There is no stopping the plan," the man replied. "I shall take the Crown, the False Champion shall die, then the world will tremble before us."

"Champion? What Champion?"

"The Regent is the Champion, False tho he may be."

Jack looked to Martha. "Well, his nickname is 'Champ', something he's always had," she explained. "His birth name is Charles Hampton, Champ for short. If he dies before the Coronation, then Lord Greaves takes the throne instead of Prince William."

"Then we make sure he doesn't die," Jack declared.

"Too late, too late, you're much too late," their prisoner sang.

"That's getting annoying," Jack scowled. "Why are we too late?"

"He's already on his way to his execution," the man laughed. "He's already dead and he doesn't have a clue!" The interrogators shared a grim look as their prisoner continued singing. "Kings and Queens and Guillotines, taking lives tonight," he crooned before shouting, "It's Execution Day! Whose Blood on whose hands? Whose Blood? Whose hands?"

Jack grimaced, partly glad some familiar music still existed here, but disgusted this man twisted it to his own ends. "Tell me, when you take the crown, what will your name be? How will the world know you were the one who destroyed it?"

"My name shall be echoed through the Halls of Eternity as George VII, not that Pretender, William V!" he declared, cackling. "Poor old Charlie, he'll never get to see me rule! He was never fated to take the Throne!"

Jack looked to Martha, who nodded her confirmation of the Coronation name.

"The madness of this King George will be stopped. Right here, right now," he informed their prisoner. "Who are you, really? What's your claim to the throne?"

"I am King George!" he snapped. "The throne will be mine, as has been promised and prophesied since the dawn of time! The Ginger King shall bring the world to it's Apocalypse!"

Jack looked to Martha. She nodded confirmation. "Another myth, and the reason no gingers were ever allowed to take higher power," she informed him. "Prince William slowly turning in his teen years from blond have had the Doomsayers up in arms."

"The ancient prophecy will come true," George exclaimed. "The Time of the Ginger King brings only ruin!"

Jack turned away, disgusted with the man and his plans. "Put him out," he ordered. "How high is your security ranking? I need some information."

* * *

For a prison cell, the Doctor mused he had one of his better accommodations in a while. It was the size of a small apartment, including a stocked fridge and vid-screen, which at the moment, almost all the programming was concerned with the Coronation, it's history and what so-called 'experts' expected of William's reign. The Doctor found it mildly educational, noting when divergences occurred from his own preferred timeline of Earth. Of course, there were cameras everywhere, including the privy, to spy on every movement he could make.

He heard a clanking and looked out the barred window of his cell. A vaguely familiar looking large man was lead into a cell across the hall by Royal Guards. He didn't look too happy. As soon as the guards left, he called over to the Doctor. "What'cha in for?"

"Attempting to prevent an insurrection," he declared. "How about you?"

"Fathering the next King of Albion," he laughed, half-heartedly. "You married? Got kids?"

"Once or twice, and...a few," he recalled. "Not sure I'm ever going to see them again, mind you." The Doctor scrutinized the man once more. "Hang on! That's where I know you from, the files in Lake's office! You were just on the Telly."

"You just now figured out who I am?"

"William's father, the Regent?"

"How do you know my Will?"

"His aide Markham shot and nearly killed me yesterday. Quick reflexes, that one," he noted. "Ah yes. I've met your wife. Blimey, good luck with that one," he replied.

"You look fine to me," the Regent noted.

"I'm a bit hard to kill," the Time Lord explained. "Well, up until now, I suppose. You could say I was a bit reckless in my younger days. Used up all my, well, do you have that saying here, a cat having nine lives? It's a bit like that, really."

Charles shook his head in disbelief, chuckling at the man's erratic train of thought. "Where you from, stranger?"

"Gallifrey. You can call me the Doctor."

"Never hoid of it, Doc. I'm from N'awlins, myself," the Regent replied in a Southern drawl before switching back to a more proper tone. "Charles Hampton Jones, Regent of the Royal Wyndham line, at your service. My friends call me Champ."

"Pleased to meet you, Champ," the Doctor smiled. "How long are you in for?"

"I don't think I'm staying long," Charles informed him. "Now that my boy is going to be crowned King, they don't need me, anymore. They're putting this old stud out to pasture."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not talking about retiring back to New Orleans?"

Charles gave a grim smile and chuckle. "I wish I was, my friend. I wish I was."

The hall door opened again and the elder, silver-grey haired Lord of the Manor entered and stood between the two men. "I see you two have met. It's just too bad the two of you will now have to die."

"Give it a rest, Geoff," Charles snapped. "You've been sabotaging this whole succession from the start, over thirty years ago. You know it, I know it, and Wilf knew it long before he died."

The Doctor caught the name and briefly wondered how common it was here. Obviously, it wasn't his friend, Wilfred Mott, who had a lineage in the British world, including his insufferable granddaughter, Donna Noble. Then again, he realized, Wilf always had a certain nobility about him, so it could have been possible, he wondered briefly. That matter would have to wait for another time, though.

"You wanted to be king over him," Charles continued, "but he was always one better than you. In lineage, as a person, and just in general. It's all sour grapes," he accused. "Let me go and I swear I won't have you executed for treason. You know full well I never wanted the damn throne anyway. My family is all I want and need."

Lord Geoffrey Greaves fumed. "_He_ wasn't better than me! _You're_ not better than me! You're not even a _true_ son of Albion!" he screamed, spittle flying. "My heir will take the Throne! And you, _you_ will be dead, as will yours!" He then turned on the Time Lord. "And so will you and your friends, Doctor. My agents have already rounded them up!" He faced Charles again. "All opposition to my ascension will be _eliminated_! I have _your_ heir! His guardian is dead, as he soon will be, joining you on the Altar!" he declared. "I _will_ make this world bow down before me and _worship me_!"

"You're mad," Charles replied calmly, still holding the window bars of his door. "As mad as Caesar Caligula and all those who came before and since. You can never take the throne, only pull the strings behind it. Once your so-called heir takes the crown, what makes you think he'll keep listening to you? Besides, you're an old man. You'll be lucky to make it another decade, if not a full year, _if_ he allows it."

Greaves snarled and hit a button on his wrist-comm. Charles yelled out and jumped back from the door, wringing his hands. The Doctor wisely pulled his own hands away from his door's window bars, just in case.

"I wish I could make it last an eternity, you poor excuse for a...a _Colonial_," he spit at the Regent before turning and leaving.

"I think that went rather well, considering," Charles finally chuckled before turning serious again. He looked across to his fellow inmate. "I'm sorry you got pulled into this madness, Doctor," he shrugged.

The Doctor waved it off. "I've been in worse situations, Charles," he admitted. "One thing I've learned is to count on your friends, and right now, there's no one I'd rather have on my side than Jack Harkness and his crew."

Charles glared at him. "Did you say Jack _Harkness_?"

"You know about Jack, already?" the Doctor asked, incredulous. "I'm almost afraid to ask how?" he said nervously.

"You see, Doctor," he began. "Jack is-" He stopped when the hall door unlocked again. Two men entered. Prince William was escorted by a man who looked vaguely familiar to the Doctor, but he couldn't place where he had seen the man before in his world.

"_Will!" _Charles shouted in greeting, but it was obvious the prince was still drugged from his walk and slow reaction to his father's voice.

"Let's make this quick, shall we?" his escort somberly urged as he let the prince into his father's cell.

Charles waved him down as he hugged the boy in a tight bear hug. "Just let me be with my son in our final hours, is that too much to ask, Alonso?"

The man nodded he understood and turned to leave when the Doctor shouted, "_Alonso_? Alonso _Frame_?" The man stopped and returned to the Time Lord's cell. "It is you, isn't it? What are you doing on Earth?"

"Sir? I was born here?" he replied. "How do you know my name, anyway?"

"Oh, you could say we met a few years ago and a lifetime away from here," he chuckled. "Why are you working for such a horrid old man, anyway?"

Alonso glanced to Charles, who was watching him intently, then up at the hall security camera. He winked at the Doctor.

"Oh, _brilliant_!" he beamed. "We may survive all this yet!"

"_Keep your voice down!" _Alonso hissed. "Be prepared when they come for you," he advised, then left the hall with a nod to Charles.

The Doctor looked across to the Regent. "Package has been delivered," the man informed his new ally with a wink.

The Doctor smiled broadly. He was afraid the boy would be searched after their earlier encounter upstairs. Now, he hoped Jack and his companions would be able to find them in time. Although, if what Greaves had said about the prince's guardian being dead were true, that didn't bode well for his friends. Will Markham was a prominent part of the Royal entourage, what were a handful of newcomers to this world? Less than nothing and easily expendable, to be sure.

He looked across the aisle to see the Regent was now sobbing softly as he hugged his son tight, kissing him on the head. The man nearly dwarfed his son in size, even if they were almost the same height. He briefly wondered if the tears were concern over his son's current state or the fact that they were facing imminent death. He hoped for the former.

The Doctor now realized why Gwen and Rhys were so determined to return home and their own child. He suddenly felt lonely, missing Susan, Sarah Jane, Rose, even Jenny and the incorrigible River Song, among others, wherever and whenever they may be. He realized his own time was running out.

TBC...

* * *

A/N:

Cast updates: yes, a few familiar faces from another series, as well as shout-outs to other companions.

As for the Regent? You really have to ask?

A note about the wrist-comms: think of the basic design as matching Jack's VM, but more like a cell/mobile/PDA with text capabilities. This is how Charles and Ianto can remove their PDA sets from their straps, while the rest leave them strapped in. Having Greaves as their "inventor" is one clue to his identity. And yes, you should pay very close attention to the details that seem trivial. SPOILERS!


	5. Sacrifice

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 5 - Sacrifice

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso, OCs

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?" Jackson Lake inquired, blocking the way of Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper, and Rhys Williams.

"Lady Miranda wished to see these two," Tosh lied.

Lake didn't believe her. He turned to his guards, "Gentlemen, please make sure these three reach their destination safely and make sure they are not interrupted."

The trio glared at him, but had no choice but to allow themselves the escort to the Regent's quarters. They passed through the upper balcony of one open hall when Tosh stopped short.

"Move along!" one of the guards ordered.

It was just enough distraction she needed to have the person she spotted below to glance up and notice her. Ianto gave her a slight nod in acknowledgement, his expression grim. She mouthed "Martha", and he gave another curt nod.

Gwen and Rhys contained their surprise at seeing their other friend, now fully realizing these were their counterparts in this world. Rhys started to wave, but Gwen grabbed his arm and gave him a scolding look as each escorted party went in separate directions.

Ianto waited another minute before he acted. "What was in that stew you served on the jet?" he asked Capt. Norris, beginning to fake gastric discomfort.

"I had the steak," he replied as Ianto began actively showing his distress. "You alright, buddy?" he asked, putting his hand on the man's shoulder as he began to double over.

Their guards stopped and gave each other questioning looks.

"I think I need to get to medical," he replied, fighting a gag. "I might be sick," he groaned. Luckily for Ianto, his prim and proper airs no matter the situation were well known among the guards, so the men escorting him took this as a sign he was really in distress and hurriedly diverted their charge to the castle's medical wing.

Captain Jack Harkness scanned the private files Martha Jones had accessed for him as she pulled the curtain closed around the royal impersonator, "George". Jack happened to glance up as the Regent's aide-de-camp and pilot were escorted into the ward. Martha dashed over to assist Norris with the 'cramped up' Ianto Jones.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, waving off the guards.

"He said he thought it was the stew on the plane?" Norris offered.

"Uh-huh," she said, hooked an arm around his torso and ushered him into the second triage stall. She then turned around and glared at the guards. "You lot get out of here! Can't you see this man is ill?"

"We were ordered to stay with the pris-" he began, but was cut off.

"Even the Chief Medical Officer can overrule the King," she reminded them, "and since I am in charge of this facility at the moment, I am overruling any orders you might have and telling you to get out!"

The guards looked between themselves for a moment, unsure as to what to do when Jack rose. "You heard the doctor! Clear out!" he ordered them in a Scottish accent. She glared at them again. They decided to retreat to the outer hall.

Martha returned to her 'victim'. "What's going on?"

"Can they hear us?" Ianto quietly inquired. She shook her head. He resumed his normal voice with a quick explanation. "They never let down the castle shields when we arrived, guards swarmed us and took the Regent off in another vehicle, and brought Capt. Norris and myself in here. I happened to see Toshiko and another pair under guard, she clued me in to get to you, so I faked indigestion," he explained.

"The old 'bad airline food' ploy?" Jack asked, a mix of emotions on his face as he studied the man.

Ianto eyed him for a moment. "Who might you be, sir?"

"Captain Jack Harkness, you could say I'm with Torchwood in Wales," he replied, fighting to keep his voice from choking up. "We're here to help make sure the Coronation goes off smoothly." It was obvious he was struggling to keep in control.

Martha gave him a curious look, but decided now was not the best time to ask how well Jack knew his Ianto. Or what had happened to him. "So where do you think they took the Regent?" she asked the newcomers.

"Most likely to Lord Greaves," Ianto suggested. "I would think that making sure Lady Miranda and Prince William are safe would be our initial priority."

"Tosh should be on her way back to Lady Miranda's suite with Jack's friends," Martha informed him.

When Ianto raised a curious eye at this, he explained, "Gwen is one of the most capable agents I've ever met, and Rhys won't let her or any of her charges come to harm. Your Lady is under good care."

"What about the Prince?" Norris asked.

Martha and Jack shared an exhausted look before she pulled back the curtain to the neighboring bed. "We can only assume the Regent will be joining his son at the residence of one Lord Greaves," she explained. "This is the double he was going to have take the Crown, tomorrow. Boys, meet our self-imposed King George," she mused.

"He claims the Regent will be taken to Stonehenge in Glastonbury and killed," Jack informed them. "It's now our duty to see that doesn't happen."

"So who can we trust?" Ianto asked. "Who's on our side?"

"Only ourselves," Jack announced, "and the Doctor, even if he is currently missing."

"Well, we do have one ace we haven't played yet," Norris announced, glancing to Ianto.

* * *

The door to the dungeon hall clanked open once more. The Doctor and Charles both went to their windows to see who it was.

"Gentleman, it's time we were off," Geoffrey Greaves announced as several armed guards went about the task of opening their cell doors. "I'm sure you won't mind if we don't use the cuffs," he asked. "Just in case we're spotted?"

Both men gave him grim looks, saying nothing.

"I'm having the boy fitted with an explosive collar," he warned them. "It will detonate if he gets more than twenty feet from me at any time. Just in case one of you gets an idea into your head about escaping, with or without him."

"You bastard," Charles replied. "I'll see you in Hades."

"I'm sure you will, my friend," he chuckled. "But not for a _very_ long time." He motioned to the guards. "Take them away. We need to be in Glastonbury by nightfall."

The two men were led outside to a small line of waiting carriages. Greaves made a show of checking Prince William's neck and adjusting his wrist-comm as Charles was ushered into one carriage and the Doctor into another, both with guards. Greaves and the prince entered the carriage ahead of them with Alonso. They departed with an escort ahead and behind as they left the city.

The Doctor noted that Greaves had apparently hired random carriages to cover their task and destination. He was glad to note that his driver was the same as the one he had used earlier. He now hoped that Jack, Gwen, and whoever was still loyal to Charles and William would know where they were being taken.

* * *

"Can I talk to you a minute?" Jack asked, pulling Ianto aside into the lavatory.

"You've been acting odd toward me since I came in," Ianto noted. "Why is that?"

"That's-that's what I want to talk to you about," Jack admitted. "I'm not really from here, we're time travelers who got sidetracked to your alternate world from our own."

"I see, and you know me in your world?"

Jack hesitated. "Yes," he admitted. "We were close, very close."

Barely a flinch from Ianto as he realized what Jack was saying.

"My Ianto, he-he died in my arms," Jack informed him. "I gambled against a foe I underestimated and...I-I lost him. I got my Ianto killed and I just need to say...I-I'm sorry."

Ianto was stunned. He could see the tears in the other man's eyes. He needed absolution in the worst way possible.

"Can you forgive me, Ianto?" he asked.

"I don't know you," he began as Jack's face fell, "but I can tell you this," he said as he grabbed Jack's shoulders and lifted his chin. "You're still alive to make a difference. Don't let your Ianto's sacrifice be in vain by letting it drag you down."

Jack smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Does that mean-?"

"I'll give you my forgiveness if we all make it to the Coronation in one piece." He forced a smile.

Jack kissed him. "As you wish," he finally said before turning and heading out the door to the others.

"I-I'm not even like that! I don't-" a dumbfounded Ianto protested, then took stock of himself. "_O holy gods, what have I missed out on_?" he whispered, unable to stop a smile creeping across his face.

Minutes later, Jack's team quickly subdued and tranquilized their guards, Martha and Jack headed for Lady Miranda's quarters while Norris and Ianto smuggled George into the castle's escape tunnel, his "ace in the hole" play only a select few knew about. Lake was not included in that few.

Despite having Lake's forces overtake the castle, they met surprisingly little resistance. This worried Jack. "What do you think it means?" he asked Martha.

"He's concentrating on making sure Lord Greaves gets his task done, first?" she offered.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he answered as they took out another guard. They couldn't be sure who was with them and who was loyal to Lake, so they had decided to tranquilize anyone they met just in case.

The pair soon arrived at the Regent's chambers with minimum fuss (and several more tranquilized guards), where Martha used her private medical override to allow them entry.

"Who's up for getting out of this joint?" Jack asked.

"Jack!" Gwen exclaimed and ran to hug him.

"Any word of the Doctor?" Rhys asked.

"No, which is a good thing, right now," he told them. "We need to get to Glastonbury, if we want to save the Regent and Prince William."

"Stonehenge?" Rhys said incredulously.

"Yes, now come on, we have transportation waiting," he said, trying to usher them out the door.

"I'm not going."

Jack rolled his eyes and looked at who had spoken.

"I'm not going," Lady Miranda repeated. "I'll be of no use to you there, but I can cause a distraction here."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She glanced to Martha, who understood and nodded. "We can provide you a distraction to help cover your escape," she informed them. "Now go, and bring my men home to me."

Jack turned to the royal physician. "Martha, you can keep her safe?"

"Long enough for you to make sure we have the right king crowned tomorrow," she told him as she handed him her medical kit. "Just in case."

Tosh stepped to her. "I should stay, too, to protect her majesty."

"I already ordered you to bring my son and husband back to me, Toshiko," Miranda reminded her. "Please, go. We can hold our own, here. They don't call me the Royal Fury for nothing," she said with a smirk. "Time to live up to that name."

"Yes, ma'am," she replied and the quartet headed for the rendezvous with Norris and Ianto.

Gwen and Rhys were only slightly amazed to learn of the secret passage contained within the Regent's quarters, but did not argue the plan. They were more amazed to see who was waiting for them at the castle exit.

"Ianto?" Rhys exclaimed.

"Y'know, I'm starting to get used to this," Gwen mused. "I hope it doesn't last."

Jack laughed as he let the Regent's aide lead them through the narrow tunnel that led outside the castle grounds. He finally flipped a switch that lowered a rampart into the tunnel and they emerged in the hunting preserve.

"Captain Norris set the hover-copter down near this exit on purpose," he informed them as he led the group through the woods. "The Regent was afraid we might have to use it."

"How did he know that?" Gwen inquired.

"Privileged information," he told her. "He didn't even share that with me until we landed."

"Smart man," Jack noted as they arrived at their transport.

"If that's a helicopter, where are the rotors?" Rhys asked, seeing that the vehicle resembled a helicopter in his world, but missing the obvious parts. The other main exception being what looked like water pontoons for landing gear.

"Tesla tech like the carriages?" Jack surmised.

Ianto gave him a puzzled look. "Yes, much like the carriages, our planes and hover-copters use Tesla-based propulsion technology. Whisper quiet and highly maneuverable," he explained. "The anti-grav repulsor lifts in the pontoons do most of the hard work, we barely need a pilot to take us to our destination."

"Hey! I heard that!" Norris chided him as he was finishing up his pre-flight check as they boarded, squeezing seven people, including the unconscious George, in to the six-man craft. "I'm glad you made it," the captain noted. "One of you can help me fly this thing, right?"

"I probably can," Jack volunteered. Norris raised an eyebrow. "I've had lots of experience in lots of different craft," he shrugged. "This shouldn't be too hard," he said with a wink.

He did a double-take at Jack, unsure if the man had just dissed him or made a double-entendre. "We ready then? Next stop, Glastonbury!" he declared as they lifted off. "Hmm, it's a bit heavier than I expected, but we should be there in no time," he told Jack, who seemed to get the handle of the co-pilot controls fairly easily.

They easily evaded any passing air patrols with their royal call sign and overrides, added to that the fact Lake and Greaves could not order them grounded without alerting any outside authorities to what their plans were. Ianto noted that his wrist-comm was now working once they had left the city. He sent a text message to someone as a test. She replied back immediately.

* * *

The Doctor tried to make small talk with his guard, who completely ignored him. He finally started fishing in his pockets for some distraction, which only annoyed the guard when he fished out a small paper bag. "Jellie baby?" he offered.

The guard gave him an inquisitive look.

"You don't have jellie babies, here?" he asked, taking an green one out and biting into it. "Hmm, lime? A bit stale, but otherwise still good."

The guard hesitantly took the bag and produced an orange one. He sniffed it, unsure what to make of the confectionary, before taking a small bite. He seemed to enjoy it and quickly finished it before going after a second one.

"See? I'm not trying to trick you or anything," the Doctor smiled. "At least tell me your name?"

The guard cautiously bit into the red candy before spitting it out and throwing the bag back at the Time Lord. He drew his stun-pistol and held it on his prisoner.

"Not a fan of the red ones, eh?" he quipped, cautiously retrieving his bag of candy. "It was either cherry, cinnamon, or, um, hot pepper? You probably got a pepper." The Doctor would have continued, but the carriage finally slowed to a halt.

The Doctor looked out the window, recognizing the familiar stone plinth structure in the distance. A large camp had been set up with numerous tents in the surrounding area. He didn't have much time to assess the situation before the carriage door opened and another guard ordered him to disembark. As he stepped down, he saw the Regent had also exited his cab and the drivers were being paid and told to wait in town for further instructions. This world's Rhys glanced back at the Doctor and Regent with a concerned expression before departing.

Lord Greaves had his men escort the prisoners to a larger tent. Prince William didn't stray too far from the man, but kept looking back to his father, who remained silent and stoic.

When the four men were finally alone in the sparsely furnished tent, Lord Greaves announced, "We have a few hours to kill before the ceremony commences, if you'll pardon the pun. I've taken the liberty of ordering you one last meal, Charles. I'll be gracious and allow you your son until then." He adjusted his wrist-comm and the red light on William's neck-explosive went from red to yellow. He then looked to the Doctor. "You, on the other hand, I have no compunctions about killing right here and now," he snarled.

"Why do you hold me in such contempt?" he asked. "You don't even know me."

Lord Greaves began laughing. "You still don't know who I am, do you, Doctor?" he asked, amused, before turning on the Time Lord. "If it wasn't for you, none of this would be happening! You and that bitch whore of yours!"

The Doctor looked at him dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about?"

Greaves approached the Time Lord and took him by the shoulders. "You're right. You were merely the ones who cursed me, Doctor, but it's my brother who is really to blame for what came next," he explained to the confused trio. "Still, he won't be here for quite a while and one does what one must to keep entertained until then."

"You've totally lost me, now," the Doctor replied, looking into the crazed blue eyes of the man in front of him. He recalled something familiar about them, but couldn't place what. "You're not the Master, are you?"

"The Master?" he laughed. "The Master wishes he could have the chance I do, right now, Doctor! You could say I'm your oldest friend, quite literally," he snarled.

The Doctor stared at him a long moment. "Oldest friend?" then it finally dawned on him. "_Jack_?"

Charles sighed. "I tried to tell you, earlier."

Lord Greaves smiled. "Tell me, what does it feel like to know you're going to die after less than a millennia, Doctor? What have you done? How have you _lived_? Have you ever actually lived, or just _existed_, jumping around time, from planet to planet? Running away from everything? What is your _legacy_, Doctor?"

"I don't understand, how is this possible?"

Greaves smiled. "Gwen could probably fill you in on the details, but she's not here," he replied. "Did I ever mention my brother Gray to you, Doctor? Did I ever tell you how much he _hated_ me? How much he _blamed_ me for not saving him from the attack that destroyed our childhood home? How he happened to chance upon John Hart, who I was a Time Agent with?" He forced the Doctor down onto a bench, taking a seat opposite. "How he forced John to try and kill my friends, then trapped me in the past, literally burying me alive? Oh yes. It was a shallow grave, true, just heavy enough to keep me from digging my way out," he explained. "That is, until some random flood accidentally unearthed me, and I was able to live again."

"I'm sorry, Greaves...Jack, I had no idea," the Doctor offered. "You don't even look like-"

"Tell me, Doctor, have you ever been trapped without access to your wonderful time machine?" he asked, noticing Charles perk up at the mention. "Oh yes, Charles. I'm sure you saw that lovely blue box of his where you landed this morning, did you not?"

He turned back to the burly ginger. "Gray miscalculated, whether it was intentional or not, or some twisted way John tried to save me." He leaned in closer. "The best I've been able to determine, I was stuck _ten thousand years _in the past with no hope of rescue," he informed the Doctor. "I think I've aged pretty well, don't you think?"

"What happened, Jack? Tell me, I can go back and help-"

"You _can't_ help me, Doctor!" he shouted. "I've already _lived_ it! _No one ever came for me!"_

The Doctor considered the implications, but all he had to do was look before him to see the Regent and his son, the prince, to know millions -billions, even- of lives had existed in this parallel world that he had no right to deny now. He finally offered a weak, "I'm sorry."

"No. You don't get to be sorry, Doctor," he replied. "You call yourself immortal, but I know time runs short for you, now, doesn't it? What Rose did to me allowed me to survive, but it also allowed me to shape history here as I see fit."

"You can't," he protested. "There are fixed moments in time that have to happen!"

"Oh, yes," he smiled. "Your precious 'fixed moments'? They only happened as I saw allowed. I am a god among men here, Doctor. I shaped the course of human history in ways you never even dreamed of!"

The Doctor leaned back, away from this madman.

"This is _my_ world, Doctor, I have ruled from the shadows for millennia," he continued. "Wars were fought in my name! Kings, emperors, presidents, _none_ of them took power unless I saw fit. Did you even notice the little things? Charles telling me he'll see me in Hades over Hell? The Nazarene never formed his church, here. Despite the rise of monotheism from the Hebrews, I rather enjoyed the Greco-Roman mythology and attitudes, including their more open-minded views of sex and marriage." He turned to the Regent, "Most people don't mind having a lover or six on the side, but some like the Regent here, they still keep that whole antiquated monogamy thing going," he shrugged.

Charles glared, defiant.

"I guess it does help with the whole line of succession, but really, Charles, you don't know what you're missing," he teased, reaching over and running a finger along the man's jaw line. "Even Prince Georgie likes it."

"You leave him out of this," Charles snarled, trying to pull away from the man's touch.

"So it's true then?" the Doctor interrupted. "Your heir?"

"You just now realized what is really going on?" Greaves asked. "And here I thought you Time Lords were supposed to be the smart ones."

The Doctor looked to Charles. "The double, this 'clone', he's yours, too, isn't he?" He left it to the man to say the actual word in front of his son.

William looked to his father, questioningly. "Dad?"

Charles locked eyes with the Doctor. "Yes," he finally admitted. "Twins. We had twins. George and William."

Greaves sidled up to the Regent, who fought the urge to shove him away. "Go on, tell him the rest," he urged in the man's ear.

Charles hugged himself as he spoke. "We kept the details private from the media. One was stillborn. The cord wrapped around his neck, strangling him in the delivery," he admitted. "The midwives weren't able to save him. We only told the media of the survivor, William," he glanced to his son, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, son, it's true."

"Then what happened?" Greaves urged again. "Tell them!"

Charles sighed. "Miranda was still recovering, we didn't tell her what happened yet, when-when Greaves showed up, he-he gave the stillborn some of his blood. The boy woke up, seemingly healthy."

"You made a deal, didn't you?" the Doctor asked.

"We-no, I_-I _gave up my son to this man to raise," he reluctantly admitted. "The only problem was that Miranda knew she had carried twins, she refused to believe one had died. That drove her so crazy, she had to be put on medication. Somehow, she knew the truth, and I couldn't-_wouldn't_ admit it to her. I couldn't admit I gave up our firstborn child." Tears streamed from his eyes in shame.

"_First_born?" William echoed in surprise.

Charles turned to his son. "Yes. George, your twin brother, he was the first to come out, but you were the one who survived. You were technically the first child to survive your birth."

"Technically?" he repeated, stunned.

"We still love you, son," he said. "We raised you to be who you are today. I just wish I had never made that deal with Greaves to save your brother," he admitted, fighting to keep his emotions in check. "If I could take it back, I would, even if it meant losing your brother."

"That's why you banned him, isn't it?" the Doctor asked. "You couldn't live with the guilt of what you had done, giving up your son and driving your wife away?"

Charles nodded. "I'm sorry." He turned to William, "Can you forgive me?"

William hugged his father, crying. "Why didn't you tell me? Why?" Charles hugged him tightly until an electric shock surprised them, breaking their grip.

"Can we _please_ stop with the theatrics?" Greaves shouted, pulling his sleeve back over his wrist-comm. "Boo-fucking-hoo! _I'm_ the one who raised the actual firstborn prince! _My_ son will take the throne tomorrow and all of you will be dead! There is nothing you can do to stop me. All of your allies are dead or held prisoner until I say so. Even your precious TARDIS has been booby trapped, Doctor. There is nothing you can do to prevent this ascension."

"You're forgetting one thing, _Jack_," the Doctor corrected him. "I've still got a Jack that likes me and wants to see his friends safely home."

Greaves rose and approached the Doctor, looming over him. "Not anymore, you don't," he said and slapped the Time Lord hard across the face, knocking him off the bench.

He strode to the tent door to leave. "Enjoy your last supper," he laughed.

The trio that remained gave each other grim looks as a servant brought them their food, placing it on their table. No one was eager to eat.

* * *

The royal hover-copter landed outside Glastonbury proper. Jack told them to expect resistance, but the main problem they had were the crowds gathering to watch the solstice sunrise the next morning. They agreed Norris would guard George while the rest of the group quietly blended in to get their surroundings.

"Don't they have a newsstand in this town?" Jack groused. "How are we supposed to find a map or get a newspaper to see what's going on back at the castle?"

Ianto handed him an electronic tablet. "Here, read this. We haven't used newspapers for quite some time, I'm afraid. Most of the world went 'green' decades ago."

"Do you have maps on here?"

Ianto scoffed. "Of course. Plus, with the Royal overrides, we can-oh. Oh dear."

"Turn it off!" Tosh scolded him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Lake can trace these tablets," he said, quickly shutting the PADD off, then double-checking his wrist-comm was also off. "Sorry about that."

"So you don't have paper maps in this town?" Rhys asked.

"Most likely, no," he replied. "Still, with the holiday and all, we just need to follow the crowd."

"Holiday? For what?" Gwen inquired. "The Coronation?"

"There is that, but also the Regent's birthday falls on Summer Solstice," he informed her. "The last few years have been bigger celebrations in his honor, and much more so this year with the Coronation." The time travelers gave him confused looks. "Don't you celebrate Solstice in your world?"

"What, you mean like New Years, Christmas, and Boxing Day?" Rhys asked.

"What are New Years and Christmas?" Ianto replied, puzzled. "We celebrate Summer and Winter Solstice, here, among a few other Hols, but those are the big two. Lots of people gather around here and other sites to watch the sun rise up and honor the gods."

"Wait, you did say 'gods', plural, right?" Jack inquired. "No monotheistic rituals?"

"What, like the Hebrews and Muslims?" Tosh asked.

"Nice to know there are still religious differences, here," Gwen mused. "Celebrating solstices is something only a few small groups do, back home."

"Your world sounds like a barrel of not fun," Ianto quipped. "We should really get going to the site if we want to stop the Regicide." He waved a taxi carriage down.

The group started to climb into one when another began blaring as the driver laid into his horn. Jack and Rhys stopped to see what the commotion was about. Rhys' jaw dropped.

"Oi! You lot! Over here, now!" the other man ordered.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked, stepping back out. She did a doubletake as she saw who Jack was headed for. She looked at her husband again to make sure he was standing right beside her. "Rhys?"

"I guess that's my double, here?" he offered, confused as he helped her down. "What're the odds, eh?"

Jack approached the man cautiously. "Is your name Rhys?" he asked.

"Yeah, and who are you lot? Who is that?" he pointed to his double. "I know I ain't got a twin."

Jack smiled. "Not quite, but you could say we're not local."

Rhys sat straight up on his carriage perch, eyeing Jack for a moment. "You don't know a big ginger, do ya?" he asked.

"Actually, yes. You've seen the Doctor?"

"I don't know what he is, mate, but he said I looked like one of his friends this morning," Rhys explained as his double and the others joined them. "In fact, this same bloke I met this morning? This afternoon, I got chartered to bring a lot up here to the Stones, him and the Regent included."

"The Regent is here, at the Stones?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah, I-hey, I know you! I seen you on the viddie, ain't I?" he said excitedly.

"Ianto Jones, personal assistant to the Regent," he introduced himself.

"Yeah, I thought so! Anyways, I just dropped them off up at the Stone circle," he told them. "Real weird stuff. I carried your ginger friend, myself. They had lots of guards, obviously. Regent looked real pissed, too, like he didn't want to be there. Can't says I blame him, honestly."

"Sir, I am asking you to take us to the same location you dropped them off," Ianto ordered. "The fate of the Crown rests upon this and you will be rewarded most handsomely."

Gwen's Rhys slapped his hand over Jack's mouth before he could add anything, hissing in warning, "_don't you dare say a word_!"

The other Rhys barely got out "Seriously?" before the group began piling into his carriage. "If you say so, then," he finished as they set off for Stonehenge.

* * *

Alonso Frame entered the tent. "Are you done with the food?" he asked the trio, hanging up several suit bags.

Noncommittal shrugs were his reply.

"I hope you enjoyed your surprise then," he said as he started to lift the tray, only to realize it was still heavy with food. He dropped the try back on the table and lifted the lid. "Or not."

"What are you talking about, lad?" the Doctor asked.

Alonso held up a rolled napkin, which he threw at the Time Lord. "What do I want with-oh," he started as he realized what the man had smuggled in. "Thank you, my good man!" He pocketed the roll in his coat.

"What is it?" Charles asked.

"Something I thought I lost, earlier," he replied.

"You're just lucky I was the one who had to search both you and the Prince, earlier," Alonso replied, quietly. "I knew I didn't recognize that as anything of the Prince's, so I figured you had planted it on him. I thought you might want it back?"

"You thought right," the Doctor beamed. "Thank you!"

"Um, I am afraid I'm going to have to ask you to change, though," Alonso informed them. "Lord Greaves wants you all in ceremonial robes, just in case there are a few people here who are not his supporters. Which, from the fact he's restricting the crowd, is not very likely."

"Unfortunately, I'm guessing he has more supporters than I was made aware of?" Charles asked.

"I'm afraid so, Sir," he nodded. "At the very least, you can wear your hoods up so you can blend in as he-um..."

Charles waved it off. "We know why we're here," he replied. "And thank you for your support, at least."

"He also requests you, um, well, don't wear anything underneath?" he blushed. "I'm sure he won't mind if you don't totally strip?"

"I'm sure he would," the Doctor sighed. "I knew there was another reason I didn't want to come back here."

"What's that?" Charles asked as he began begrudgingly disrobing.

"Bad experience with a few of my own enemies ganging up on me here, once," the Doctor explained. "Still, when in Rome..."

"What did you do in Rome?" William asked as he began stripping.

"Hmm? Oh, just an expression," the Doctor replied, standing to examine the robes. "By the way, I'm beginning to start a plan."

Charles' wrist-comm suddenly buzzed from an incoming text message. He looked at it in surprise, expecting that it was still jammed, then smiled at the Time Lord. "Don't make it just yet, Doctor. Room for a couple more?"

* * *

Rhys stopped the carriage as close to the tent compound as he dared. Several other carriages were coming and going, dropping off night revelers for the morning celebrations.

"Alright, we're here," he announced as the quintet began piling out. "Good luck to you all, and by the gods, save the King!" he announced before turning back to town.

"Nice chap, shame we couldn't get to know him a bit better," Rhys acknowledged.

"Och, you two would be driving me insane inside five minutes," Gwen teased her husband.

Rhys responded with a mischievous smile. "That sounds like fun," Jack added, winking at his friend, only to get scowls from both. "Or not," he shrugged.

"I've just texted the Regent," Ianto informed them. "I took a chance Lake wouldn't be monitoring."

"What does he say?" Jack asked.

"Scorpi-oh." The trio followed Ianto's gaze and saw a group of guards approaching them. Meanwhile, Tosh quickly disappeared, slipping away into the crowds.

* * *

Lord Greaves returned to the tent to survey his prisoners, noting all three had put on the ceremonial gilded robes he supplied. He took in William in his royal blue finery before he glared at the Doctor in his purple robes, then turned to Charles. "I've just been told you received a text message on _this_?" he asked, grabbing the Regent's arm, exposing his wrist-comm from the scarlet sleeve.

Charles pulled his arm free. "We know you've taken over, there's nothing we can do to stop you, now," he retorted. "Why do you insist on continuing this charade?"

"Your continued existence is a thorn in my side I will tolerate no longer, Charles." He motioned to the guards. "Bring them! It's time to end this, once and for all."

He lead the troupe out into the stone circle, motioning where each was to stand. They noticed that only a few dozen stood inside the torch lit perimeter, while seemingly hundreds more could be heard beyond in the darkness. Alonso had been correct in that those unaware of the night's proceedings had been banned from entry into the interior circle. Charles mused most of them were probably too drunk to care at the moment, which could be a blessing or curse, depending on if their allies were held up.

The Doctor stared in awe as he had not gotten a good look at the stones when they arrived, earlier. The Stonehenge he knew was weather-worn and missing plinth stones, it was not the case here as he realized the circle was in near perfect condition. In the center was now an angled slab, ropes hung from each corner to bind a victim. Before it, a large stone with a gilded claymore sword embedded in it, the jeweled and golden pommel glistening in the torchlight.

"You don't recognize it, do you, Doctor?" Greaves asked. "This is _Caledfwlch_, better known as Excalibur. It will take the last of your lives with it, ending the Reign of the Lords of Time."

"What's he talking about?" Charles asked.

"You know how I said I was from Gallifrey?" he asked. Charles nodded. "It's actually a planet very far away. Home to an ancient civilization that has been destroyed by what we called the Time War, beset upon by a full armada of our deadliest enemies and destroying any civilization that happened to be in the way. I am the last survivor of that war, and the man who engineered the destruction of my people to end the madness. I am the last Time Lord."

"Wow, heavy," Charles replied, not even pretending to comprehend what he had just learned.

"Doctor, it is an honor and a privilege to be your executioner," Greaves smiled. "Tie him up!"

"You're just killing this body, Greaves," the Doctor told him as he was lashed down. "Remember that severed hand of mine? The one I managed to clone myself into? He's still alive, and you'll never get to him. He's still on that Earth the Cybermen took over, fighting them as well as fighting to find his way back to our proper time line."

"You lie!"

"Am I? Jack's the one who returned the hand in time for me to clone myself, saving me a regeneration. Don't you remember?"

Greaves stared at him in disbelief for a long moment.

"I can prove it to you," the Doctor told him. "You just need access to my TARDIS, which you can't get into if I'm dead. I can show you from there."

Greaves started laughing. "You think that didn't occur to me?" he spat. "I had them bring the TARDIS here! _Lake_!"

One of the robed witnesses turned and headed toward the nearest tent. He cut a rope and pulled the tarp away, revealing the blue police box on a pedestal. The man turned back to the altar and pulled back his hood. Jackson Lake stood revealed, smiling maliciously at the Time Lord.

"I leave nothing to chance, Doctor!" Greaves informed him.

Lake motioned to someone behind him and four more people were brought out, hands bound behind their backs, three of them familiar to the Gallifreyan. Charles started at the sight of his aide with them.

"Hey, hey, the gang's all here," Greaves gloated. He went to the struggling Jack Harkness. "Long time, no see, Jack."

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure," he replied, struggling against his captors.

"We've had all kinds of pleasure, Jack. That is, until Gray sent us back in time, causing all of this," he informed his millennia-younger double.

"What? Gray sent _us_?" he repeated, aghast.

Gwen turned to her friend in astonishment, "Jack, is he saying that he's-?" Jack shook his head, adamantly refusing to believe what they were being told.

Greaves turned to the Regent. "How's that song go, Champ? 'I am you as you are me, as we are all together'?" He watched as Jack's face went slack, realizing who he was facing. "And to think, I used to be quicker on the uptake," he scoffed. "You'd think the so-called 'Face of Boeshane' would recognize himself?"

"We can go back!" Jack protested. "We can stop all of this!"

"Funny, that's exactly what the Doctor said, and you see where that put him? No, Jack, our timelines separated long ago, there's no quick time loop cure to stop me." He turned back to the altar. "Not now, not ever."

"What about everyone you loved? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Jack protested.

Greaves turned back to him. "Nice try Jack, but Ianto, Gwen, the rest?" he motioned to the other captives. "They mean less than nothing to me, now. Ancient memories of an ancient time in my life," he growled.

Greaves stepped over to the sword and grabbed the hilt. "Time for all of this to end, Doctor. An end to the Time Lords and an end to Charles and his ilk."

He pulled at the sword but it refused to budge. "What?"

Lake joined his master. "What's wrong?"

"The sword is locked in the stone, it won't budge," he snarled, turning to face the Doctor. "How? How did you do this?" he demanded.

"Don't look at me, I just got here," he quipped.

Greaves slapped the Doctor, then turned on Jack. "What did you do?"

"We didn't have the chance to do anything," Jack told his alternate self. "You had us arrested as soon as we arrived."

Greaves was furious. "How did this happen?"

"If I may make a suggestion?" Gwen spoke up.

Greaves turned on her, prompting Rhys to try and break free and protect her, cussing out his guards.

"What do you know?" Greaves demanded.

"The old story, right? The sword in the stone?" she replied. "Only the True King can remove it," she reminded him.

"The sword is genetically locked and coded to _me_," he informed them. "I am the only one who can remove the sword!"

"Maybe you're just not worthy, any more?" Jack suggested.

Greaves wheeled and hit him across the face. "You're not going to even come close to it, Jack," he scowled.

"Let the prince try, then?" the Doctor offered. Greaves approached the altar and readied to strike the Time Lord. "If your heir is his twin, then it should release for the both of them, right?"

Greaves held his hand, ready to strike. He looked to the young man, who wanted nothing more than to be away from this madness with his father.

"If anything, it should help convince your people that your heir is truly the rightful King, correct?"

Greaves stalked across to the prince and grabbed his collar, forcing him to the sword. "Pull it out. Now."

William shakily reached for the sword, glancing to his father and the Doctor for assurance. With little effort, the sword slid free from the stone. William raised it high above his head to show the crowd. Many gasped in awe, some scattered applause could be heard throughout the throng.

"Don't give in to him, William," the Doctor warned before turning to Greaves. "I remind you, entire civilizations have trembled before me! I am The Doctor, Time Lord Victorious! I am the Oncoming Storm!"

"You are nothing but a pain my ass, Doctor!" Greaves replied as he shoved the prince away, taking the sword. "Release the Doctor," he ordered. The time travelers breathed a sigh of relief. "It's nearly midnight. Time grows short. Tie the Regent to the altar."

"No!" William cried, before he was drug back to the sidelines by Lake, fighting all the way.

Charles only defied his captors long enough to whisper to his son, "I love you, my little prince," before they lashed him spread eagle to the altar stone. "Let's get this shit over with," he demanded.

Greaves checked to make sure the Prince, the Doctor, and all their companions were all watching. A slight nod and they were forced to their knees. He stepped up to the altar and raised the sword. "The King is dead! Long live the King of _True_ Albion."

He plunged the sword deep into Charles' chest.

A clap of thunder rang out and the altar was suddenly awash in light.

TBC...

* * *

A/N: I was halfway through writing this chapter when p1 of Doctor Who's s5 finale, "The Pandorica Opens", aired. I honestly had NO IDEA it was going to be set in/under/around/NEAR Stonehenge when I wrote the earlier chapter setting this one up! I decided to throw in that bit about his being there before, afterward.

Seriously, I need to play the lottery more often, considering the parallels between Smith's first season as 11 and this story! LOL


	6. Razor's Edge

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 6 - Razor's Edge

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso, OCs

* * *

"No!" William cried, before he was drug back to the sidelines by Lake, fighting all the way.

Charles only defied his captors long enough to whisper to his son, "I love you, my little prince," before they lashed him spread eagle to the altar stone. "Let's get this over with," he demanded.

Greaves checked to make sure the Prince, the Doctor, and all their companions were all watching. A slight nod and they were forced to their knees. He stepped up to the altar between Charles' legs and raised the sword. "The King is dead. Long live the King of _True_ Albion."

He plunged the sword deep into Charles' chest.

A clap of thunder rang out and the altar was suddenly awash in light.

Lord Greaves stumbled back, he looked down at his chest which was slowly turning red. "What? Who?"

"Get the _fuck_ away from the Regent!"

The assembled crowd looked up to the cross stone from where the voice had come. Will Markham stood there, lit from behind by the lights of the royal hover-copter, right arm in a makeshift sling, left arm pointing a gun. He fired again, hitting Greaves between the eyes.

Greaves crumpled to the ground.

"Jackson Lake! You are under arrest for treason and interference in the succession of a monarch of Albion!" Markham yelled. "Guards! Seize that man and his accomplices!"

Lake started shouting his own orders to seize Markham, but none of his men moved. Many of the crowd threw off their robes to reveal Royal Torchwood uniforms and began to apprehend their once allies. Jack and the Doctor, however, moved as one. Jack tackled Lake as the Time Lord ran to the bound Regent, the sword still sticking out of the burly man's torso. He listened to the man's chest and heard a faint gasp of air. Prince William followed, crying over his father as he grabbed the man's hand.

"Charles!" the Doctor shouted, "Are you still with us?" He scanned the man with his sonic screwdriver. As Ianto and Alonso Frame stepped out of the crowd and began untying him.

Charles raised his head and looked around, focusing on the blade which protruded from him. "I'm...alive? It...doesn't hurt?" he wheezed. "Chest tight, hard to breathe."

The Doctor started to grab the hilt, but then stopped and turned to the weeping prince. "I think this is your job, young man?" he smiled.

William looked at him in confusion. The Doctor motioned to the sword sticking from his father's chest. He hesitantly reached over and grabbed the pommel. "I'm sorry, dad," he said as he freed the ancient weapon from his father.

Charles gasped for air, hacking and coughing.

"_DAD!" _he shouted, afraid he had just killed the man.

Charles waved him off as the Doctor helped him to sit up. "What-what just happened?" he asked. "How am I not dead?"

The Doctor held up his screwdriver to the sword. "I'll explain later, Charles. For the moment, though, I'd advise you not to move too quickly, just in case."

"This has something to do with that message I received the other week?" he asked.

The Doctor smiled. "I'd like to see that, but right now, we need to get you back to the castle for a Coronation," he said.

William hugged his father, glad to see he had not played a part in patricide, or his own regicide.

The Doctor turned and went to his companions. "I believe we have some explanations in order, don't we?" he said as Gwen hugged him, glad he was alive.

"I'm just glad the cavalry arrived in time, Doctor," Jack grinned, motioning to Will Markham, who was now being lowered to the ground courtesy of Capt. Norris and a rope from his copter.

He crossed back into the circle and checked on Charles and William before joining the Doctor and Jack. "Good to see you survived," Jack greeted him.

"Good to _be_ alive, Jack," he agreed, holding out his gun. "I believe this is yours? How did you manage to pull this off anyway?"

The time travelers exchanged confused looks. "You mean you're not the one who brought the cavalry?" Jack asked. "Then who?"

"That would be partly my doing," Ianto spoke up. "I alerted the media as to what was happening, and the Regent has more support than Greaves could ever hope for. Everyone here not under arrest was assembled by Tosh and one other person."

"oh no," Markham muttered. "_any_body but her."

"Oh yes, Will," came a new voice from the crowd. A robed figure stepped forward and removed her hood.

Jack gave her a curious look. "Don't I know you?"

The Doctor beamed and laughed in amazement before charging her and giving her a bear hug. "_Sarah Jane!" _he exclaimed, lifting her off the ground. "It does my hearts good to see you stir up trouble wherever you are!" He kissed her on the cheek.

Sarah Jane Smith yelped in surprise at her attacker. "Unhand me! Help!" she cried in surprise as the Doctor crushed the air from her lungs.

Jack laughed as Markham gladly turned a blind eye to her distress, only to see another familiar face pushing her way through the crowd. Toshiko, who had slipped away earlier, avoiding arrest, finally rejoined her husband and kissed him before slapping his face.

"Oi! What was that for?"

"Saving the royal family isn't getting you off the hook for nearly killing yourself," she told him before hugging him tight.

"Women," he groused to Jack, before groaning in pain as she intentionally slapped the shoulder he had been shot in.

"Doctor?" Prince William interrupted. "You can get this thing off as promised, right?" he asked, pulling on the explosive collar Greaves had fitted him with.

"Of course," he replied, flashing his sonic screwdriver at the device a minute, which unlocked and fell into the prince's hands. "What do you want to do with that, now?"

"I have an idea," Jack spoke up.

William was already one step ahead of him. He locked it around the bloody neck of the prone Greaves. "Just in case," he said. "If his claims of immortality are true, then this should keep him quiet if he wakes up."

William then went back to watch over his father while Jack and the Doctor made sure Greaves' wrist-comm code had been changed as a precaution. Jack made silent note his counterpart was already beginning to heal.

Before long, most of the crowd had been dispersed, with the Regent-loyal Royal Guard escorting Lake and his men away, as Jack made sure his ancient counterpart was tied securely before being taken into custody, despite their allegations that the man was dead. Jack laughed them off.

When they finally had a moment to convene, they regrouped in the tent Charles and the Doctor had been held in earlier.

"Somebody want to explain what happened to me, tonight?" Charles finally asked.

"You said you received a warning message about all this?" the Doctor asked, examining the sword _Caledfwlch._

"Yes, it came to me before I left for Louisiana," he replied. "It said only to tell Jonesy and Markham about what was coming and how to prepare."

"Written or video message?" the Doctor inquired.

"Written," he replied. "The first half was telling me how to prepare for just such an attack as tonight, the other half was gibberish?"

"You still have this message?" Jack asked.

Charles motioned to Ianto, who produced a PADD tablet and a fresh pot of coffee. After fiddling with it a minute, Charles handed it to the pair. Jack smiled as he glanced at it. The Doctor scrutinized it a moment longer.

"It's not gibberish," the Time Lord announced. "It's Gallifreyan. A message to myself on what to do next."

"Next?" Charles asked.

The Doctor smiled. "I told you, Charles, I'm a Time Lord," he reminded the Regent. "This is merely a list of things to myself I must attend to as soon as we're done here, including rigging _Caledfwlch_ so as not to kill you, if you don't mind," he explained. "A simple phase matrix coded to your DNA so it doesn't pierce your flesh on the altar." He proceeded to remove a small jewel from the sword hilt, showing it to the royals before pocketing it.

"After the message to you, there's a message to me and then the Doctor's list," Jack added. "Unreadable to you, unless you can decipher the 51st Century dialect of Boeshane?"

"But how did you get that message to me without it being intercepted by Lake or anyone else?" Charles asked.

"I can only tell you we had a bit of inside help on that one when we send it to you," Jack replied. "I can't reveal anymore at this point," he said somberly, glancing at Will.

"So do we have a breach in protocol or not?" Markham asked.

Jack went over and whispered something in his ear. Will jerked back in surprise. "How did you know-?"

"We're time travelers. All in due time, Will," he smirked.

"Well, it's late and we have some business to conduct tomorrow, don't we son?" Charles reminded them. "We need to get back to the castle and get some rest before all the fun starts."

"Excellent," Ianto noted. "I'll have Norris ready the copter for our return."

"Not so fast, Jonesy," Charles cut him off. "Get one of those carriages to take us back to Londinium, why don'tcha?"

"As you wish, Sir," he nodded and left the tent.

"You're taking the long way back?" Markham asked.

"_You're_ taking the long way back, Will," Charles corrected him. "You, Tosh, and Ianto have some issues to discuss."

"_Sir_?" he protested.

"Didn't you get my text?"

"Sorry, been a bit too busy of late to check my messages, Charles," he snarked.

"The three of you are all on vacation as of next week," he informed the man. "Destination is your lady's choice. Now you two get your asses out of here," he ordered. "I'll see you three back home."

Will tried to protest, but Toshiko knew it was pointless to argue the Regent when his mind was made up. She pulled her husband by his good arm out toward the waiting carriage Ianto had procured.

When he saw the couple coming, Ianto started to ask what was going on, but she held her hand up as she helped her husband inside. "We've got to talk. Get in."

Ianto rolled his eyes as he climbed in, sitting awkwardly across from his lover's husband. Tosh pointed and he begrudgingly shifted over to sit beside the burly man before she joined them. Rhys Williams stifled a laugh at the trio as he set off for Wyndham Castle.

"So that blue box outside?" Charles inquired of the Doctor. "What does it do?"

"First, I check it for this alleged 'boobytrap'," the Doctor replied, "then my friends and I have a few things that need to be taken care of here before we try and find our way home."

"You're coming to the coronation, right, Doctor?" William asked.

The Doctor hesitated, glancing to his friends.

"Of course he is, son," Charles answered for him. Before the Time Lord could protest, the Regent continued. "After all you've done for us, the least we can do is show you a good time before you're on your way."

"Well-"

"Since you insist," Jack cut his friend off, "it would be our pleasure and honor to see your son crowned."

"To make sure of it, I'll have your time box flown back to the castle," Charles insisted.

The Doctor harrumphed.

Charles gathered his clothes and PADD and headed out to the hover-copter with his son and their new friends. Alonso stood guard with Norris over the 'cargo' already on board. Charles was not too amused to see his other son still bound in the back seat. He gave a heavy sigh.

"Norris, is there another copter available for our friends?" Charles asked his pilot.

"Yes sir. I've already contacted Lapidus, per Mr. Jones' instructions," he replied, holding up his wrist-comm. "He should be here shortly to transport," he paused to look at his wrist-comm text again, "a blue crate?" He gave a questioning look to the Regent and then to the Doctor, who was now angrily eyeing him.

"Blue crate?" he fumed. "_Blue crate_!"

"Relax," Jack chided him. "I'll discuss it with Ianto when we get back to the castle, okay?"

The Doctor glared at Jack a moment, then stalked off to the TARDIS. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get my '_blue crate'_ ready for transport," he yelled over his shoulder.

Jack gave the Regent an embarrassed shrug. "Sorry about that, Your Highnesses. He's been a bit temperamental the last few days."

"Fergit it," Charles replied. "We're all still on edge. I was going to ask, do you mind riding back with your, er, TARDIS, was it? It's going to be a bit cramped with all of us, not to mention our two 'passengers', and, well, my sons and I have to discuss a few things before we get back."

Jack looked to Gwen and Rhys before answering. "Of course not, we understand."

"I will see you back at the castle, right?" William asked them.

"Of course, your Highness," Gwen replied.

William gave her a quick hug of thanks, before he and his father both shook the men's hands and parted ways. Jack and his friends went to join the Doctor while Charles and William boarded their royal copter.

"Let's get out of here," Charles ordered Norris before turning to his bound son in the back seat. He gave the young man a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry it had to come to this," he told his son. "I wish things could have been different." He reached out and rested his large hand on his son's gagged cheek. William silently watched his twin, who obviously knew about him, but he had never known about, and kept his own counsel.

George struggled against his bonds as Norris lifted them into the night sky. The only result was that the bound (and slowly regenerating) corpse of Lord Greaves fell over onto him. He screamed in protest through his gag as his father contacted Martha at the castle for "two secure deliveries, en route" after she confirmed they had retaken control.

When they arrived, Norris had trouble getting through to Torchwood Tower to land. Charles finally told them, "This is Champ and Red King, demanding immediate clearance for landing. I have two secure deliveries for Medical Officer Jones and we are expected. Clearance Code: Bonne Terre, Roi Rouge."

"Apologies, Regent 1," came the reply. "You are cleared for landing. Ms. Jones will meet you on the ground."

Upon landing, they saw Lady Miranda and Martha running to meet them. Charles got out and hugged his wife, kissing her. "Hey babe, I missed ya," he chuckled.

"You missed all kinds of excitement," she informed him. "Let's just say, I can still kick up a storm, big man." He had to laugh at that, kissing her again before releasing her to greet their son. He motioned to Martha, who had a small team with two stretchers waiting. Charles blocked Miranda's view as Martha quickly stepped inside the copter and injected George with a sedative to keep him quiet.

When Miranda started to ask what was going on, Charles told her, "It's fine, I'll explain everything later. For now, let's just get our little prince inside so he can rest up." She hesitantly complied, watching as Charles and Norris helped Martha cover the two other passengers and load them onto the gurneys. No one else was made aware of the identities of the pair as she quickly sequestered them in her hospital lab with Norris. As soon as they arrived, Will Markham and Ianto Jones were already willing to help her secure the two dissidents.

* * *

"Everything square over here, Doctor?" Jack asked as the trio rejoined their friend, who was busy scanning the exterior of his craft with his sonic screwdriver.

"Hm? Oh, yes, Jack," he mused, distracted. "Just trying to figure out what Greaves could have done to sabotage the TARDIS, is all."

"I'm wondering if that wasn't some sort of mind trick he was playing," Jack replied. "From what he was saying, he and I were essentially the same person until a short time ago when my brother buried me alive in the past, only we had different destinations. I certainly knew less about piloting your TARDIS then than I do now."

The Doctor eyed Jack a moment. "And if you're wrong, and this Jack spent more time as my companion, learning all he could about the TARDIS? What then?"

Jack put his hands on the Doctor's shoulders. "Wouldn't you be aware of that? He's playing with you. It's all a mind game to him."

The Doctor threw a glance to their other companions. "How can you be so sure, Jack?"

Jack leant forward in a conspiratorial whisper. "First off, we already know we make at least one trip, in order to leave that note," he reminded his friend. "Second off, they already recognize you as being the same person who inspired Torchwood, here. Unless you think you have an alternate version of you, here, as well? Was he the one who visited Queen Victoria then?"

"You have a point, Jack," the Time Lord finally admitted, shaking his screwdriver at his immortal friend. "Still, it never hurts to be too careful," he added and promptly entered the TARDIS, his companions close behind.

"I've got an idea," Rhys spoke up. The Doctor and Jack turned to look at him. "We've had a rough few days here. We've been invited to an historic event. Why not take these people up on their hospitality and relax, then worry about getting home after?" Gwen hesitantly voiced her approval.

Jack looked to the Doctor. "Man's got a point," he smirked.

The Doctor harrumphed and began pouring over the console controls.

Gwen sighed as Rhys turned to her, shrugging, "At least I tried."

The Doctor continued to investigate any possible intrusion and every minor detail of his controls even after Lapidus arrived and Jack assisted him in securing the craft for transport. The Doctor remained inside while Jack, Gwen, and Rhys flew back to the castle in the hover-copter. Jack directed him to set the TARDIS down where they originally landed.

They learned the ruckus inside the castle between Miranda's over the top distraction for their escape and the previously scheduled deliveries for the celebration had the guards not already arrested on high alert and prevented them from landing with the TARDIS there. After disengaging the blue timecraft, Lapidus called for a carriage to pick the group up as they landed.

Jack, Gwen, and Rhys had to laugh as their transport arrived, seeing Rhys' double accompanied by a guard pull up. Lapidus and the guard, Laszlo, who Jack soon recognized as the one he owed a 'favor' to, were awestruck by the two men, immediately questioning if they were twins.

The two Rhys' had to laugh as Jack simply said, "It's a long story" and explaining the Regent was aware of what was going on.

As Jack literally dragged the Doctor out of the TARDIS, Albion-Rhys chatted up Gwen. Her husband was no longer amused with his double upon hearing his counterpart was "Still single, in fact. I never met a Gwen Cooper to my knowledge." he explained, checking the couple up and down hungrily. "I have had my fair share of lovers thanks to my job driving this carriage, though," he added with a wink.

Overhearing this last as he returned with the Doctor, Jack was intrigued. His friends, however, immediately turned on him. "Don't even think about it!" his Rhys warned, while Gwen suggested "let's not pursue _that_ matter any further," with a chastising look to all of the men.

Having stowed the protesting Doctor inside the carriage, the companions joined him as Laszlo insisted he had to stay up top with Rhys in order for them to reenter the castle grounds. Lapidus said his farewells, as he claimed he had to return his hover-copter to Heathrow to ferry the day's arriving guests for the Coronation.

On the return trip, Laszlo explained that Lady Miranda had set off numerous alarms and gotten the castle in an uproar. The guards still loyal to the Regent (some still recovering from Jack and Martha) were soon made aware of the situation involving those loyal to Lake and Greaves, and numerous arrests were made. Most of the remaining guard were paired off to limit the chance of further disruption from other Greaves loyalists. Even upon the return of the Regent and Prince William, things were still being sorted out. The time travelers decided to keep quiet about who the Regent brought back with him for the time being.

When they arrived at the castle, they were met by Torchwood guards, who refused the group entry until Tosh was summoned to verify their identities.

"Charles and the Prince are resting up for the Coronation," she explained as they finally entered the castle grounds. "Will is in the castle hospital with Martha, having his shoulder looked at, while Ianto is securing our -ahem- 'other guests'," she continued as she led them inside. "I have quarters set aside for you all to rest and freshen up before the ceremonies begin in the morning."

"Can we see them?" the Doctor inquired.

Before she could ask who he meant, Jack added, "You know who may still pose a danger. It's probably for the best if we check in on him as soon as we can."

"If you think that's best?" she replied. "I'll let Martha know you're headed down. You know the way?"

Jack nodded, "Thanks, Tosh."

As he turned to leave she grabbed his arm. "One more thing," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Thank you for not getting Will killed," she smiled.

Jack grinned in response. "If it wasn't for your husband, things might not have had turned out the way they did," he winked.

She nodded. "Tell him to hurry up down there and get back to me," she said and let him go. Jack nodded as she then led Gwen and Rhys to their quarters.

When the two time travelers arrived in the hospital wing, they found Martha redressing a barechested Markham's wounded shoulder. "Where's Greaves and the boy?" the Doctor asked as Jack flirted.

"I've got Greaves locked in the cold room being watched by Ianto. Champ's just stopped in to check on George, but don't tell Miranda, since they haven't," she informed them before telling Will to put his shirt back on. No sooner had she finished, than they heard the Regent screaming. The quartet ran for George's room, only to find an anxious Ianto at the door, standing watch over the sleeping twin.

"Where's Charles?" the Doctor demanded.

"He went to check on Greaves," Ianto informed them, obviously torn between his orders to stand guard over the royal twin versus fighting the urge to see what was wrong with his sire. "He said to ignore anything I might hear, but-"

"Stay with George," Martha told him, then led the group to the cold room where she had stored Greaves. They found Charles beating the limp body, blood already smearing his clothes and fists.

"What the _fuck_ do you want?" he snarled at the intruders.

The Doctor and Jack stepped forward. "We heard you yelling and came to see if you were alright," the Time Lord assured him.

Charles threw Greaves' battered body against the wall and approached the Gallifreyan, towering over him. "Get. The. _Fuck. _Out!" His breathing was labored and they could hear the pain and anger in his voice. The Doctor stood his ground.

Jack stepped between the two burly men. "Let's all just take a deep breath and calm down," he soothed.

Charles shoved him aside, into the wall. He continued to stare down the Doctor, who stood defiant. Markham pushed Martha behind him, just in case.

"It's not me you're mad at, Charles," the Doctor said. "If you want to continue to beat a corpse, be my guest. Just remember this: by agreeing to give your son over to this madman, you sealed his fate. The fault lies in your own choices."

In the doorway, Martha quickly prepped a sedative for the Regent, allowing Markham to hide her actions in case he turned on them.

"Don't tell me what choices I made, Doctor," Charles sneered, then glanced to Jack as he regained his footing, before glaring back at the crumpled form of Greaves. "He said he is you, Jack. Is that right?" He held out his hand at Jack, pointing a blood covered finger at him.

"So he claims," the Time Agent replied.

"What the fuck happened to twist his mind like that?" he asked. "How does someone become so dark, so dangerous, that he can do something like this? Trick me out of my son. Try to kill me and William like we were nothing. Why would he do that?"

Jack met his gaze. "He said he's lived through several millennia. After a while, I can only guess he just stopped caring and decided to reshape your world in his own twisted image. I can't tell you any more than that."

The Doctor watched Jack with suspicious eyes at this.

"How did you do it?"

"I'm sorry? How did I do what?" Jack asked.

"How did you become immortal, travel through time? How did you do it?"

Jack and the Doctor shared a concerned look. The Doctor finally nodded his assent.

"I was born in the 51st Century, by the calendar we're used to, another 3000 years from now," he began. "In that period, we have achieved interstellar space travel as well as limited time travel. I became what we called a Time Agent, assigned to make sure no one abused and altered history, like a cop on patrol."

"Isn't that what happened, though?" Charles asked. "At some point, you found yourself trapped in the past and decided to change everything? Or is that yet in your future?"

"Yes and no. A short time ago -to me- my long-lost brother tracked me down and trapped me in the past in revenge for abandoning him in our youth. Something I had no control of," he explained. "The Doctor informed me that Greaves told you he was trapped farther back than I was. If that moment is where my life diverged from Greaves', I can only guess. There are other times in history where the outcome has weighed on even less chance, affecting the universe in even bigger ways than Greaves has affected this world."

"There are fixed moments in time that need to happen," the Doctor interrupted. "That said, time is more fluid than you think. Events can be altered, the time line changed beyond repair. For us, this is just such a world, parallel to the one we know, but just as valid. There are others, some more recent, others more ancient in their divergence." His mind briefly drifted to Rose and Jackie Tyler, now trapped in one such divergent world with his clone, fighting for a better outcome.

Charles grunted in acknowledgement. "So this time traveling? It made you immortal?"

Jack and the Doctor shared another look of concern. "No, that was an event that can never be repeated," Jack informed them. "In order to save the future, a friend used herself as a funnel for dangerous energies. She could have died. I was already dead, but as a parting gift, I guess you would call it, she healed my wounds and essentially made me a living fixed moment in time," he explained. "I can heal from any injury, and believe me, people have tried their best to kill me, but I keep coming back." He glanced to Greaves' body and shrugged. "I thought I would never age, but it seems that I will over time, apparently. Who knows, I may finally even die, one day."

The Doctor kept his own grim counsel, knowing what final fate lay in store for his seemingly immortal friend.

"Until that day," Jack continued, "I try my best to embrace life, and keep this planet safe from those who would harm it."

"That sounds nice and all," Charles replied, "but how do I keep this man from coming back and trying to kill my family again and again?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Charles," Jack replied, looking to his counterpart again. "I've been buried alive several times, once in concrete. I've been blown to bits, burned, stabbed and shot I don't know how many times. I keep coming back." He glanced to the Doctor, noting his silence. "Since it's now obvious I will eventually age, maybe you would have better luck trying those again with Greaves?"

"What about keeping him imprisoned in the dungeon for eternity?" Will asked. Charles and Jack turned to him.

"Would that work, Jack?"

"You would have to keep him under constant guard, Charles," Jack replied. "Do you have an eternity to do that?"

"What about burying him in concrete and dropping him into the deepest ocean trench?"

"By the time the oceans evaporate, mankind will have moved on from this planet," the Doctor mused. "Hopefully."

"Can we shoot him into the sun in a rocket?" Charles suggested. "Wouldn't that kill an immortal man?"

"Between the gravity crushing him and the temperatures burning him until the sun goes nova, it sounds plausible, if not a little -pardon the pun- overkill," Jack noted, looking to the Doctor for confirmation again.

The Time Lord acknowledged his friend. "Whatever your decision, we can take no part in it."

"Why not?" Charles growled. "Since he's technically your man, why don't we make you take him?"

"He's been a part of this world for millennia, Charles," the Doctor countered. "He is no longer our problem, he's yours."

Charles scoffed at that and turned back to the corpse. He began kicking and stomping it again, slowly at first, then letting his anger flow. When Jack tried to pull him away, Charles shrugged him off and renewed his assault. Despite his bulk, he was more muscular than Jack expected. Will stepped forward with a hand on his shoulder to keep Jack from interfering again.

Charles finally dropped to his knees and let out a deep sob. The others held their distance, unsure of his next action. They weren't surprised when Charles again began pounding on the corpse once more, refusing to let up until his large fists were too sore to endure another punch. The corpse looked like it had been through a meat grinder. Charles again began a deep sobbing, continuing until he couldn't breathe.

He finally let Will help him to his feet. Martha stepped forward to examine his hands, wiping away the blood with a towel. Charles made no move to stop her, he didn't even flinch in pain. She suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"His hands," she exclaimed. "There's not even a mark on them! They're perfectly fine!"

Charles stood there, unmoving, uncaring, as she turned his hands over. The Doctor scrutinized him as Jack stepped forward to examine them for himself.

"Has this happened before?" the Doctor asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Martha replied. "Come to think of it, he's rarely been sick that I recall?"

Jack looked to his friend. "The blood," he said. "Greaves' blood healed his wounds even as he injured himself." He bent down and examined his double's mangled body, dipping his fingers in the blood. "This has never happened to me, but what if this Greaves -this Jack- what if his blood has healing properties?"

"What are you saying?" Will inquired.

"His blood might cure George of his madness," Jack suggested, noting the Doctor scowling at him.

"You already said it saved your son's life when he was stillborn," the Time Lord reminded him.

"It can't hurt to try," Martha replied, glancing to Charles for a reaction.

He remained silent a moment before simply giving her the empty-voiced order, "Do it."

"Are you sure, Sire?" Will asked. "What if-?"

"What if it cures my son and my family can be whole once more?" he replied. "Make it happen, Martha."

She nodded and left to get a syringe.

"What if it doesn't work, Charles?" Will asked. "What then?"

"Wouldn't you do the same for your own kids? For Tosh?"

Will Markham fumed. "That's not the same, Charles. You know it." The pain in his voice obvious.

Jack and the Doctor exchanged curious looks. Will had mentioned having kids in passing to Jack before, but never explained further. He had never thought to ask where they were, assuming they were away at some school.

Charles put his hands on Will's shoulders. "I would do the same for you if our positions were reversed, Will. It already worked once, when he was born."

"What if it doesn't work now? What then?"

Charles' face grew dark. "Give me this. Give me this hope it will turn out alright, Will. Please," he begged. He held Will's head and pressed their foreheads together. "Please."

"I can't tell you what to do, Charles," he replied. "I'm just saying, don't get your hopes up."

"Will, I love you like a brother, but I need my family whole," he said. "I have that chance. I would gladly do the same to you to save yours, you know that." He pulled Markham into a hug.

Will reluctantly returned the hug, wincing at his shoulder wound. "Yeah, Champ, I know that," he whispered in return, clapping the larger man's back. "I know."

Martha reentered the room with her syringe and knelt down to draw the corpse's blood. She hesitated. Jack knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder in support.

"Where's the best place to start?" she asked. "The heart?" He nodded. She placed the needle over his chest and forced it into the bruised ribcage, drawing a full vial of the thick red fluid.

"Shouldn't we test it first?" Will asked. "Just to double-check, I mean?"

"You'd be willing to do that for me?" Charles asked.

"I was thinking run it through the lab, but if it makes you happy, Champ?" he reluctantly agreed, motioning to his injury. Charles smiled appreciatively and hugged him again.

Martha nodded and told him to pull his sleeve up while she double-checked the syringe for air bubbles. She held the needle to his injured shoulder. "Are you sure?"

He looked to Charles for assurance. He nodded. "No, but let's do it."

She injected half of the dead man's blood into his arm. They waited.

Will flexed his arm. "It's still sore, but it does tingle a bi-yarrgh!" he screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, clutching his shoulder with his left hand. Charles and Martha knelt down by him.

"I knew I should have hooked you up to monitors first," she exclaimed as he grunted in another round of pain.

"I'm sorry, Will," Charles cried. "I'm so sorry I made you do this."

"nguh!" Will moaned, then looked Charles in the eye. "You better be, Champ," he said through gritted teeth as another wave of pain swept his body. His body suddenly went limp.

Charles cradled him in his arms as Martha checked his vitals. She gave the Regent a worried look.

Will's body suddenly seized up. Charles tried to hold onto his torso as Jack pulled Martha clear and the Doctor tried to hold the man's legs still to keep him from kicking anyone. After a long moment, he finally relaxed. All four waited for another seizure, but it never came. Charles felt for his friend's heart, then looked to Martha with a worried expression.

Will suddenly grabbed Charles' hand. "Feeling me up again, Champ?" he croaked.

The quartet looked on in surprise as Will sat up, still holding on to Charles' hand. "Are you okay?" Martha asked.

"What happened?" he inquired in a dazed voice.

"You took a shot of Greaves' blood," she replied.

"It feels like I been on a week long bender," he told her.

"Feel like standing up?" Charles asked. Will nodded and the pair stood together. Will swayed, but Charles held him steady. "How do you feel? How's your arm?"

Will flexed his arms, testing them out. "Feels like I just did a million push-ups. They're sore but ready for more."

Charles looked to Martha. "Give it to George."

"Shouldn't I make sure Will is alright, first?"

"_Now_, Ms. Jones."

She hesitated, taking another look at Will before turning to leave for George's room. She almost ran into Ianto.

"Sorry, I was just seeing what was going on," he apologized. She pushed past him into the hall, Jack hot on her heels. Ianto held back long enough to size up Will's condition before following.

Martha made sure George was strapped down in his bed and Jack and Ianto were ready to hold him down if necessary before injecting the rest of the syringe's blood into him. Charles entered, supporting a still weakened Markham as she did so. The Doctor followed as Charles set Will down in a chair. The expression on the Time Lord's face was not a happy one as he leaned against the wall.

Once again, it took a moment before anything happened. When the convulsions started, Charles once again held the younger man's torso down, motioning Ianto and Jack to hold the legs. Martha checked his vitals with a handheld device that the newcomers found curious, but the others ignored. Jack was reminded of a similar device he had seen in passing on an American science fiction show a few times and figured it was similar in nature, much like other technology seemed based on that show, from his own world's cell phones to the PADD he had seen Ianto and Charles use back at Glastonbury.

When nothing else happened with George after a few minutes, Martha rechecked her scanner. "I can't tell, maybe the sedatives interfered with the blood?"

"Maybe the blood doesn't work on psychological problems?" Jack suggested. "He seemed pretty crazed when we fought, earlier," he explained to Charles.

"You're telling me," Will said, rubbing his shoulder again.

"It'll work," Charles insisted, his voice near breaking. "It has to work. I need my family whole." Ianto and Martha shared a concerned look.

"Maybe it just needs to take some time to affect him? Why don't you get some rest and I'll keep you updated if there's any changes?" she suggested.

"I need my son," he insisted, holding the young man's hand.

"You have a long day ahead of you and another son who needs you there," she reminded him. "Go to bed, Medical Officer's orders. I can give you something to help you sleep if you want."

"You can't tell me-" he argued.

"I can and I am," she informed him. "Ianto, make sure the Regent gets to his quarters safely," she ordered, pushing Charles away from his son's bedside.

He resisted her futile attempt long enough to kiss his long-lost son's forehead. "Please be well, my son," he whispered.

"And don't let Miranda see you all bloody like that," she called after them. "Wash up first!" Ianto, with a glance to Will, helped Jack lead the protesting Regent away, leaving Martha alone with Markham and the Doctor. She eyed both men, unsure of what to say.

"How are you feeling, Will?" she finally asked.

"Tired, sore, exhausted, starving," he replied.

"Want to crash down here, tonight?"

He shrugged, then winced, regretting his action. "I should really get back upstairs to my wife, but after that stupid stunt I just pulled, taking that blood, I think I'm better off staying down here, for now. Tosh will understand."

"Alright, I'll get a bed ready for you," she said before pausing. "Is there something going on between you and Ianto? I saw that look he gave you," she inquired.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," he told her, with a glance to the Time Lord.

"If you say so," she sighed. "Well, I'm going to go prep a bed and call Tosh. Doctor, can you keep an eye on my patients for a few minutes?"

"Of course, Martha," he agreed. As soon as she left the room, he turned to Will. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? What you're asking of me?"

"Yes," he replied, watching the prince's twin. "You already know I have to do it-I already _have_ done it-to make sure all of this happens." He rubbed his shoulder again. "I'm sorry, but I have to," he said again, trying to convince himself.

The Doctor nodded. "As you wish." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

TBC...


	7. Coronation

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 7 - Coronation

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso/Sarah Jane, guest RL celebs, OCs

* * *

Martha returned to George's room where she left Will Markham and the Doctor. Before she opened the door, she heard a faint buzzing and Will groan. "It's not working," she heard Will say, "do it again."

She pushed open the door. "What's going on in here?" she demanded, seeing the burly Time Lord all but blocking Markham, who she could just see cling on to the man's hips.

The buzzing stopped and the ginger time traveler turned and grunted at her in annoyance. "Why? What do you think is going on in here?"

Martha smirked. "Will? Do you need some privacy?"

Markham leaned over so he could see her and groaned in pain. "What? No, the Doctor was trying to ease the pain in my shoulder. That blood from Greaves didn't help," he told her.

She stepped over to the pair, noticing Markham's injured shoulder was bared once more, and he was leaning into the belly of the Doctor, who held a -to her- strange rod-like device to the wound.

She made a note to tease him later about what it looked like she thought they were doing. For now, she let her medical instincts kick in. "Let me see it," she said and leaned over him. "Did the blood ease the pain at all?" she inquired.

He shook his head, keeping a death grip on the Doctor's hips (she didn't ask why). "For about two minutes, yeah, then it started in again, like I had just been shot," he told her.

She glanced to the Doctor. "What is that buzzing thing you were waving around?"

"hmm? You don't recognize-? Sorry, I keep thinking you're my Martha," he chuckled, then held up the device. "Sonic screwdriver, pretty good almost all-around utility tool," he boasted. "Saved my life a fair number of times."

"Uh-huh," she replied, unimpressed, then turned back to examine Markham's shoulder again. "Only thing I can do for you now, Will, is give you a shot of antibiotics and something to ease the pain," she explained before turning to a cabinet. "Anything else, it'll knock you out a couple hours, so you can rest up for this afternoon."

Will groaned. "This is going to be a long day, innit?" he asked, glancing up to the Doctor.

"...and miles to go before you sleep," he responded.

"Nobody's going anywhere, except to bed," Martha informed him, not getting the reference as she pressed her injector to the wound. Will grunted in pain. "Come back down and check in with Owen before you leave for the procession," she ordered him. "He'll make sure you make it through the ceremonies alive," she teased.

"Joy," he grunted again as he motioned to the Time Lord to help him stand.

"What about you, Doctor?" she inquired. "You doing okay?"

He threw a cautious glance to Markham before answering. "I'll be fine," he replied. "Better get this one to bed, then," he said and helped Markham out of the room.

"You're not staying here, then?" Martha called after them and shook her head. "I don't know where they found you lot, but I don't think this world has ever seen their like before," she mused to herself before turning to check on George and then Greaves.

George lay immobile, still unconscious as she checked his vitals. She wondered why Greaves' blood had healed Charles' injured hand, while having no reaction to his son or confidante. Had it been because Charles' wounds were external from beating on the (supposed) dead man or some other reason? She shrugged it off and went to check on the corpse.

"Hello, Martha," came a sinister voice behind her. "I don't think we've ever had the pleasure," he smiled. One hand slid around her waist as the other covered her mouth. "Please don't make a scene, girl."

She realized that Will and the Doctor would be out of earshot by now, anyway, as she felt the cold metal press into her throat. A quick hiss and everything went dark.

* * *

**Ten minutes earlier**

The Doctor and Charles found themselves alone with Markham, the others having gone to check on George.

"You want to tell me why that happened, Charles?" the Doctor inquired. "Jack can only heal himself, his blood has never had any healing properties for others. It's part of what was done to him, his body locked into a certain moment in time, always returning to that prime condition."

Charles shrugged. "dunno."

Will Markham gave the Regent a scornful look.

"Charles?" the Doctor prodded again.

Charles looked away.

"If you don't tell him, I will," Markham warned.

Charles flashed his own grim look at his friend. "Stay out of this, Will."

"Charles, I will not allow you to keep this secret if it endangers the family, the Crown, or the world!"

The Doctor looked to the Regent expectantly. He dropped into a chair, sighing.

"Fine, you want to know why I healed?" he asked. "Geoffrey Greaves, the man once known as Jack Harkness is- he's-"

Charles couldn't force the words out. He glanced to Markham and nodded as he held his fist to his mouth.

"Lord Greaves is the progenitor of Royal Families all over the world," Will informed the Doctor. "He's selectively bred into succeeding generations for centuries. Some have speculated why, but no one knows for sure."

The Doctor eyed the pair. "Then why wasn't he immediately chosen for the Crown? Why use a proxy?"

"He's always operated from the shadows," Charles explained. "Whether as a consort or through proxies like my son. This has been a Royal Secret for ages, very few outside the Families know about it, least of all the general population. It's only been a problem the last few centuries with the advent of photographs and technology that he's had to really hide who he is."

"And Miranda? Does she know this? She was just a commoner, wasn't she?"

Charles sighed. "Not exactly. She's another illegitimate cousin, somewhat more removed than myself or Wilf. Just enough that we thought-heh, '_we_'- _Greaves_," he scoffed, correcting himself_. _"Greaves had right of refusal on who I would marry. I thought it odd when he was almost excited about the match." He wiped his face with his hand. "If I had known then what I know now, I would have _never_-" he caught himself.

Will put his good hand on his friend's shoulder. "At the time, I was too young to know, but my father was head of Torchwood then. He knew what was really going on, too." He looked to the Doctor. "Wilf and Charles weren't too happy with Greaves' actions, either. My father had to mediate a truce between them."

"Is that part of why you gave up your son?" the Doctor inquired.

Will bit his lip. Charles drew himself up and looked away, hugging his arms around himself. "yeah."

"And if the twins had both lived? If it had only been a single birth? What then?"

Charles snorted. "What then? _Then_, it would be '_decided'_ that Lord Greaves would see to the children's '_education_' and raise him '_proper_' is what then," he growled. "Fucking bastard," he snarled and kicked at the corpse at his feet again.

"Forgive me for saying this, but you could say it worked out for the best," the Doctor suggested. The two men turned and glared at the Time Lord. He held up his hands. "Listen, you both got a child to raise, he saved your son's life at the cost of being able to raise him-"

"-and drive the lad insane," Markham interrupted. "Not to mention Miranda. (sorry, Charles.) You didn't see the crazed look in his eyes when he nearly killed me and Jack. I'd fear for the world if that kid ever took the throne."

"The question is, what do we do with George now?" Charles asked. "I hope this blood can cure him, but can it cure his mind?"

"You still didn't say why it healed your hands," the Doctor inquired again.

Charles smiled as if at a private joke. "All the inbreeding he's done? There have been some, shall we say, 'side effects' of that."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I can heal quicker than normal and, well, I seem to be aging a bit slower than normal," he admitted. "I'd never thought I'd look this good in my sixties. Bet you thought I was at least a decade younger, didn't ya?" he chuckled.

"Well..." the Doctor mused. "Would you believe I'm nine-"

"Yeah, that's great, Doc," Will cut in. "The healers we mentioned when we first met in the woods?" The Doctor nodded, vaguely recalling someone mentioned a healer after being shot. "One side effect. Others have been mental skills, telepathy and the like, among other traits."

"Flying?"

Will scoffed. "Please, what do you think this is, some kind of graphic novel?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Doctor mused. "I kind of like flying, just in a vehicle, of course." He was secretly glad to hear one form of entertainment persisted on this world. "And graphic novels. Best imaginations in the universe, these creative monkeys, you humans," he rambled.

Charles and Will gave him odd looks.

"What? You've got an immortal politician, healers and psychics." He pointed at Will, "And you've seen me before and after regenerating, yet you think someone flying under their own power is ludicrous? I could show you-"

Will suddenly grunted in pain and grabbed his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" the Doctor inquired, already reaching for his screwdriver.

"I-I don't think the blood is working," he grumbled.

The Doctor held his screwdriver to the wound and scanned it.

"no-no-no, please no," Charles muttered, fear growing across his face.

"I'll be fine, Charles," Will assured him. "Probably just from the shoulder healing itself," he lied. "We should go check on George."

"Will-?"

"Just go, will ya?" he urged, Charles gave him a dark look and left the room. Will then turned to the Doctor. "It's coming time, isn't it?" The Doctor nodded in understanding.

As the other two followed the Regent, Will seized up again in the hall and Charles helped him into the room where his lost son lay.

"You still haven't told me the whole story," the Doctor whispered, but was shushed by Will as they rejoined the others. He still wondered, if Charles can heal himself, why not use his blood for his son instead of Greaves?

* * *

**Coronation morning**

"I've got to go. Tons to do before the ceremonies begin," Alonso said.

"Save me a dance?" Jack asked.

"As long as it's vertical this time," Alonso laughed as he kissed the naked man beside him and rose from the bed.

"No promises," Jack Harkness quipped as he folded his arms behind his head and watched his new lover's naked body move across the room into the suite's bathroom, wondering again where the scars on his back had come from. He then pondered how open Markham would be to a threesome with Alonso. And Tosh. And Ianto?

Alonso distracted him by informing him, "The Royal staff tailors should have something for you and your friends to wear to the ceremony prepared shortly."

"How do they know our measurements?" Jack asked, with a smirk. Alonso's only reply was a wink.

The rest of the morning was spent rushing about, avoiding castle staff running to and fro with last minute preparations. The Doctor and his companions kept out of the way as best they could, while being told where and when to meet up to leave for the parade route. The men were given tuxedos, the Doctor insisting on an overcoat and scarf, while Jack had opted for a kilt over slacks. Gwen was adorned in a very flattering cream silk gown she would have described as a Grecian styled cut (and would never be caught dead in something so expensive back home) with a matching light jacket. Rhys laughingly (and lustily) refused to let her get more than an arms' length away.

Charles and Miranda finally happened across the group, accompanied by Ianto and Tosh.

"You guys look great!" Charles enthused, himself dressed in a form fitting tuxedo top and kilt and adorned with Regalia. He tossed Jack a dirty look and snapped his fingers in his face when he caught him lingering on his thick, muscled legs.

"Just admiring your Sighan Dubh," he smirked. Charles knew better.

The women complimented each others' gowns, Gwen afraid she was being too sultry, much to the denials of the other men. Miranda wore a similarly styled golden gown with a wrap and train, which Tosh kept rushing from picking up too much dirt. She was styled in a similar number to Gwen's and would later admit the dress was an option for her, but was too long for her tastes. (Will and Ianto would also argue this point.)

The Doctor pulled Charles a step away, "You haven't seen the Wills, have you?"

Charles shrugged, admiring the women. "I'm sure they'll be along shortly."

The Doctor gave him a knowing look of dissatisfaction.

"What? Biggest day of his life, you don't think he's going to be a little nervous with the whole world watching?" he scoffed.

"After what we've just been through?" he glared at the Regent.

Charles finally returned the Time Lord's gaze and frowned. "Ianto, make sure the ladies get along safely, would'ja? Quick pre-celebration toast with the boys, here," he lied.

Ianto nodded, but made it obvious he didn't believe the man. Instead, he turned to the women and began ushering them and Rhys along as Charles, Jack, and the Doctor turned back to the family quarters.

"Can I ask what's really going on?" Jack inquired.

"We're just checking to make sure my son and Will are coming along, that's all," Charles told him.

Jack glanced to the Doctor's back as he followed along behind the pair. Something was definitely up. He hoped the staff had a change of clothes ready, just in case.

They found the prince's room empty, save for the housekeeper, who insisted the bed had been slept in but never saw William that morning. The trio decided to check on Markham, just in case, and found him in his side room, still slumbering from Martha's sedatives.

When Charles woke him, he looked as if he had seen a ghost. He glanced in disbelief from Charles sitting at his side to Jack and the Doctor at the foot of his bed.

"You all right?" Charles inquired.

Will shrugged it off. "Yeah, bad dreams on top of what happened yesterday, just gimme a minute?" he replied, groggily, staring at Jack and the Doctor. He locked eyes with the Doctor, staring into the ancient blue cobalt. "Is it time?" he heard himself say.

"Not yet," the Doctor replied.

"It's time for you to get your ass in gear, Will," Charles replied as Jack gave him a confused look and the Doctor raised a curious eyebrow. "Come on, we need to find my Will," Charles continued. "Tosh is with the others downstairs already. She let you sleep in?"

Will slowly sat up, wincing at his shoulder pain again. "Never saw her last night," he groaned.

Charles hung his head for a moment. "I'm sorry." Will waved him off. Charles motioned to the time travelers. "Why don't you two see if my son is down in Medical? And see if they have another painkiller for Will, here?"

"Sure, why don't we do that," Jack replied, turning to leave. "Doctor?" The Doctor paused a second, giving the two men a discerning glance.

"What? I'm going to help my friend clean up and get dressed, now off with you," Charles ordered him. The Doctor finally turned and followed Jack out.

"Mind telling me what that was about?" Jack asked as they made their way down the halls.

"Nothing," the Time Lord replied. "Just something we discussed last night, is all." He marched ahead, keeping his own counsel. Jack threw his arms up in frustration as he followed.

When they arrived at the medical wing, they found Owen Harper giving Martha a once over. "Owen!" Jack shouted in greeting at this double of his late friend before realizing something was amiss. "Martha? What happened?"

"Don't know, don't remember, just woke up a bit ago with Owen hovering over me," she replied. She gave Jack another look of curiosity. "Is there anyone here you don't know?"

"What can I say, I get around," he smiled.

"What of our two guests?" the Doctor inquired.

"Gone, it seems," Owen answered. "The only one here this morning when I came in was Martha, sleeping like a baby." He eyed her a moment. "Not that she would tell me who she was watching."

"Long story. It's better you don't know," Jack informed him. "You haven't seen Prince William down here, then?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen the prince in a few days, honestly," he replied.

"Martha, any clue how to track him?" the Doctor asked.

"Just his wrist-comm, if he's wearing it," she informed them. "He's refused any other security than Will. Especially of late."

Owen went to a locked cabinet and punched in a code. "I'm guessing I'm missing a lot here, but if Martha trusts you?" He handed them a PADD. "Then that means the Regent knows you as well? This should help you track the immediate Family and their aides."

The Doctor and Jack scrutinized the device for a minute, noting the locations of Charles and Markham, and Miranda, Ianto, and Tosh. Even Jackson Lake was represented in a lower level along with a secondary, unidentified blip.

"Who would this be?" Jack asked the medics.

Martha glanced at the screen. "I can't tell. Someone recognized by the security systems, but masking their presence?"

Jack looked to the Doctor. "Will. Let's go," he said and turned to leave. "Oh, and thanks guys, see you at the party?" he asked.

"Before we forget, Charles wanted you to give Markham another painkiller?" the Doctor informed them.

"We'll get right on it, and wouldn't miss it," Martha replied, waving goodbye.

As they followed the PADD map, the Doctor inquired, "How do you know it's Will? It could be George?"

"Markham told me Prince William had a natural talent for overriding his security codes," he replied. "There is one master override that only three people know about, and two of them are accounted for on here," he informed his friend, pointing out the pair of dots in Markham's room.

"Oh? Who's the third?"

"He didn't say, but I can make a good guess," he explained. "They're also accounted for on here."

When they arrived at their destination, they weren't surprised to find it was the former castle dungeon, and that Jackson Lake was being held in solitary. Flashing his psychic paper, the Doctor quickly bypassed the guards so they could identify Lake's companion. The young man in his cell was definitely one of the princes, but they couldn't tell which from outside. He sat in a chair, back to the door, staring at Lake, who sat on the floor.

"Can we talk?" the Doctor asked.

"Nothing to say to you lot," Lake replied.

"We weren't talking to you," Jack informed him.

The red haired man slowly stood and turned to face the door. "My father sent you, didn't he?"

"That depends on who you really are," Jack told him. "How did you get down here?"

"I'm going to be crowned King today, I think I can pretty much go wherever I want to," he replied sullenly.

"Again, that depends on who you really are," Jack repeated.

The prince regarded Jack coolly. The Doctor held up his psychic paper again. "What's this say?"

"Long Live the King of True Albion," he replied.

"When was the last time you heard that?"

"Right before-" the prince choked up. "Right before Greaves tried to-to kill my father."

Jack and the Doctor shared a questioning look.

"Whose blood on your hands?" the Doctor asked.

The prince regarded him a long moment. "Yours, supposedly, if you really are the same man Will shot in the forest?"

"Let me see them," he demanded. "Let me see your hands!"

The young man held his hands up for the two men to see. The Doctor scanned them with his sonic screwdriver, then checked the readings. He glanced to Jack. "Trace of my blood still on his hands, which means he was the one we met when we arrived." He turned back to the cell. "Come on out, Will."

"Are you going to tell my father?"

"What, that you were getting some fresh air to clear your head before the ceremonies begin?"

"Thank you, Doctor, for everything."

The Doctor harrumphed and began to walk away.

"You know your dad's upset with you taking off like this, right?" Jack informed him.

"My father is upset with a lot of things, right now."

"Mind telling me what you two were talking about?"

"Betrayals," he said simply and left Jack standing there as he followed the Doctor back to his own quarters.

"There you are, your Highness!" a page came running up to the trio.

"Let me guess, the Regent is wondering where I was?" William inquired.

"Well, yes, they're waiting on you to lead the Procession," he informed them, glancing at the other two men.

"Hold on, don't I know you?" the Doctor asked, eying the young man.

"I don't recall meeting you before, sir, no?"

"Craig, isn't it?"

He looked to the prince in confusion. "Play along, Craig, it's less troubling that way."

"er, yes, sir. Craig Lambert, royal page at your service, sir," he replied.

"YES! I stayed with you and Sophie! How is she, then? Alright?" he asked, grinning madly. "Ever work up the courage to, you know, -ahem- ask her?" he smiled.

"Er, sorry, I don't know any Sophie?" he replied. "Nor do I believe you have ever stayed with me?"

"Right, right. Right person, wrong universe," the Doctor reminded himself. "Still, she certainly did charm her way into your life, once you two finally admitted it. Right?"

"Whatever you say, sir?" he replied, confused and trying to ignore Jack's flirtations. "As I was saying, the Regent is waiting on you in your quarters and expects you...oh, ten minutes ago," he realized in a slight panic, glancing at his wrist-comm.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," the prince grumbled and kept walking.

"Nice boy, bit shy, but-_LAMBERT_?" the Doctor stopped and went back to the young man, getting face to face, examining his features. "Do you know Verity Lambert?"

"She's my cousin, why?" he responded.

The Doctor stopped looking at him and stepped back. "I knew her, once upon a time," he replied, trailing off. He turned to Jack. "Am I being rude? I'm famished, is there anything to eat?"

"I'll have Craig bring something up for you while I'm changing, okay?" the prince sighed and stomped off.

"Thank you ever so much. Jack, come." then he realized what he had said, stopped, turned and peered into Jack's face before he could say anything. "You know what I meant. Besides, think of your children."

"I have children? Plural?"

"Ooh, blimey! Wait, why is my brain suddenly losing focus?" He smacked the side of his head. "Must eat. Nevermind the kids, I'm sure you're a wonderful mother. Spoilers," he said as he followed the prince to his quarters.

A flustered Jack turned to Craig and shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue why he even asked me to come along."

"_JACK! _Come on, and stop flirting with everyone!"

Craig shrugged in response and went about his business.

Upon arriving at the prince's quarters, they found Charles and a fully dressed Markham waiting, the latter's arm in a black sling matching his tuxedo jacket. "You, shower, young man," Charles began, pointing at the prince. "You, kitchen is sending food up? You didn't eat breakfast?"

The Doctor thought a moment, "Yes, I'm quite sure I did? It's just this new body finally seems to be kicking in and I am starving. Sorry to be any fuss." He dropped down in a chair and began pulling books off the shelf, skimming through one and moving on to the next.

Charles shrugged indifference and turned to Jack. "You, keep your eyes and hands to yourself today, understand?"

Jack blinked. "What did I do?"

Charles turned to Markham, who pursed his lips and looked away, sheepishly.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing, just that he knows me and, well," he trailed off. "It's a big day. The Big Day," he chuckled. "And it's already fifteen minutes past Showtime!" he hollered toward the bathroom.

The Doctor let out a huge guffaw, not realizing the others had heard him and tossed another book aside. "That Hawking, always a jokester!"

Jack glanced down to see a somewhat healthier version of the renowned professor on this world's version of his classic work. He shrugged and smirked at the other two. "What? He didn't get everything right. Trust us, we're time travelers." The Doctor echoed this last remark with him.

Charles rolled his eyes. "Will! Hurry it up in there! Clothes are hanging up on the door!"

They heard the water shut off and shuffling around. Five minutes later, the door opened. The prince stood before them in a Royal Military Dress uniform, decorated with his various emblems of birthright. The red tuxedo jacket was also adorned with the purple, blue, and gold Royal Sash of Office, a matching purple ascot and gold cummerbund, over black tuxedo pants with a blue stripe and black dress shoes.

Charles beamed, then turned to Markham, whispering, "Damn, I knew I should have worn pants." He stepped forward and kissed his son on each cheek. "You look very handsome, my little prince."

Will Markham had choked down a laugh, not really wanting to know the reasoning why Charles shared that. He noticed Jack taking in the prince's appearance and smiling. "Damn, you look gorgeous," he finally said. The other men in the room turned and glared at him. "What? Too much?"

"You ready then?" the Regent asked his son.

A non-committal shrug and "not really" came in reply.

"Here, to calm your nerves," he offered his son and Markham a glass of liquid off a tray, then held up his own. "To William, Long may He reign!" The trio each tapped and then drained their glasses. The Doctor and Jack added a hasty "Hear! Hear!" in salute. Charles never took his eyes off his son, seeming to consider something.

Finally, Charles clapped his hands, "Okay, last call! Let's move-Move-MOVE!" Markham lead the way out the door, followed by the prince and Jack. Charles only stayed long enough to ask the Doctor if he was coming. The Time Lord seemed shaken from a reverie as he rose and followed the Regent from the room, grabbing the donut tray from the kitchen server they passed.

"Mmmm, jelly donut," he cooed as he bit into the confection.

"Paczki," Charles corrected. "Local favorite back home, especially during Mardi Gras."

The Doctor stopped and looked at it again. "It's a jelly donut with powdered sugar on it?"

"A-Yup." He popped the last letter.

"Well, then, to your health, Charles," he toasted the man with the donut. "May everything go smoothly today and the Rightful King be crowned."

Charles stopped and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Are you trying to tell me something? Is that my son or not?" he hissed.

"What kind of father can't tell his sons apart?" the Doctor replied, taking another bite.

"One who gave up a twin at birth and has reunited with him on the eve of the most important day of the other's life?" He glared into the Doctor's eyes. "Tell me, Doctor, is that or is that not my son, William?"

"Having second thoughts about all of this, Charles?"

"Don't play games with me, Doctor. Not today and especially not now," he snarled.

"Well then, what does he have to do to prove to you he is the Rightful Heir to the Throne of Albion?"

Charles fumed at the man, then looked down the hall to see the other three had stopped and were watching them. He hoped they were far enough out of earshot. He turned back to the Doctor and laid his hands on the man's shoulders. The Time Lord was not amused by this action.

"Doctor, although I am grateful for the assistance from your company in the events of the past few days, do not try my patience with mind games," he warned. "If you have doubts about the identity of my son, whether that is George and not William, I am asking you -as a man and as a father- please, tell me now."

The Doctor plucked the large hands from his shoulders and looked down the hall at the waiting men. "Like I said, what kind of man can't tell his sons apart? What has that boy done to earn the position you are about to bestow on him for the rest of his life?" He looked back into the Regent's eyes. "You tell me if that is the right son. The right man for the job."

Markham approached the two men. "Charles? Is everything alright?"

He held eye contact with the Doctor. "Everything's fine." He finally tore his gaze away and stalked down the hall. "Let's get this over with."

Markham gave a concerned look to the Doctor, then followed the Regent and prince, barely giving Jack a passing glance. Jack waited for the Doctor to catch up. "What was that about?"

"Last minute advice," was all the Time Lord would say.

When the quintet arrived at the now horse-drawn carriages, Miranda gushed over how her son looked before the Royal Family had a quick photo then finally climbed into their rarely used open Parade Carriage with Markham and Norris driving. The Doctor's crew were allowed to follow with Tosh and Ianto behind, driven by Rhys' double, his services retained more as a security factor at this last minute than any other reason.

Gwen fussed over the Doctor, licking her thumb to wipe away a spot of jelly from the corner of his mouth, and noting a light dusting of white powder down his front. "We can't take you anywhere nice, can we?" she teased. "What? I'm a mother now, it's instinct." She high-fived Tosh as they climbed into their carriage.

Having been chosen at the last minute as another security precaution, Alonso Frame rode on the back of the Royal Carriage, while Craig Lambert rode on the Doctor's carriage. Other carriages behind them held other, extended Royal cousins and several visiting dignitaries who would have a front row seat for the Ceremonies.

Ianto explained that their carriage had originally been reserved for Greaves, but obviously, that was not to happen at this point. He gave the group a couple of Torchwood's IdentiPADDs, allowing them instant face capture recognition and biographical information, so they could help with security, as well as compare any famous names and faces from their own world they recognized.

Along the way, Charles all but refused to take his eyes off his son. His thoughts deep and conflicted. The prince put on his best smile and tried to ignore his father's eyes boring into him. Miranda elbowed her husband a few times to wave to the crowd, having come to love this particular quirk of her life. He did so half-heartedly. The news commentators along their route would later say they initially thought he was feeling nervous or ill, but later events would prove them wrong.

As the Procession arrived at what they expected to be Westminster Abbey, the time travelers once again realized that they were in a different land, with the Abbey decorated in classical Greco-Roman statues and friezes. Gwen commented about taking pictures, but the Doctor made it known he did not approve with a dark scowl.

As the Procession disembarked, they noticed several open tents set up along the last stretch to the Abbey. They soon realized that these were stations where the prince and Regent would be adding to their dress with robes and other regalia, including the Staff and Rod of Albion, given to Charles; the Orb of Albion (representing the Mother Earth), given to Miranda; and several swords of his Station, which were to be carried for now by the prince, Charles, and Markham. All three men were also given robes at these different stations of the swords.

Ianto and Tosh warned them that this stretch of the Procession would require them to pay obeisance and tuck away the PADDs they had given them. For the most part, they were asked to simply stay quiet and follow Tosh and Ianto's leads. The Doctor kept quiet about his previous experiences at coronations, but mused at the differences he observed.

The Procession moved into the Abbey, where the travelers marveled at the distinct changes from their own, fully acknowledging what they were about to witness had no bearing on anything they might expect to see in their lifetimes back home.

The Royal family were met by two young boys in white tunics with golden angel wings and sandals as they entered, leading the Procession forward. Charles and Miranda escorted their son into the Abbey, announcing him at the doorway, "Sirs, We present unto you William John Francis Hampton Jones Wyndham, Prince of Albion, scion of Charles Hampton Jones Wyndham, Duke of Scotland and Miranda Jocelyn Greene Jones Wyndham, Viscountess of Wales. May Athena's wisdom shine on Him. Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?"

This was repeated again in the center of the Hall and again as they approached the dais. Standing on the dais were one pair of robed figures surrounded by a small host of 12 more multi-colored robed figures. The PADDs informed the TARDIS crew that this was the Magister and Majestrix of Athens, essentially, the Pope and his wife, representing Zeus and Hera. The surrounding host was meant to represent the other Olympians.

Charles spoke up again. "We present to you again our scion, William John Francis Hampton Jones Wyndham, as rightful Heir and King of the Isles of Albion, Avalon, Scotland and Eire. Do you accept him, O Lords of Olympus?"

The Magister motioned the prince forward. As he stepped onto the dais with the two young boys leading, the attendant host surrounded him and began stripping him of his Regalia. He soon stood wearing only a simple, thin white tunic, which was tied at the waist by a golden cord by the young boys. The Doctor couldn't help notice the two 'cherubs' happened to have slightly Asian features. He glanced to Toshiko and Markham, both were smiling and had tears of pride in their eyes. The fact that William and the two boys seemed familiar with each other helped confirm this.

The Magister stepped back and a small pool was uncovered on the dais by one of the host dressed in a black robe, who then stood guard over it.

"Do you renounce the life you have lead so that you may represent the Olympic ideal for the people of your land?"

The prince replied with a simple, "I do."

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Albion, Avalon, Scotland, Eire, and Wales, and of your Possessions and other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?"

"I solemnly promise so to do."

"Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"I will."

"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of Olympus and the true profession of their Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolable the settlement of the Church of Albion, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in Albion? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of Albion, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?"

"All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep. So help me Zeus."

The Magister placed a golden laurel wreath on the prince's head, then anointed it, his heart, and hands with oil, then led him to the pool. "You are hereby Reborn unto Olympus," he said and pushed the prince backwards into the pool, splashing the dais.

The prince remained submerged for almost two minutes, causing some nervous dissension amongst various parties, before he finally broke the water once more, gasping for air.

A man in shimmering blue-green robes and a woman in white with a red shroud approached and helped the prince from the pool and seated him on a stone on the dais. The man handed him a trident, the woman a pearl.

"Poseidon and Aphrodite accept this scion for Olympus," they announced.

The next pair approached. He in purple robes, she in emerald. He offered a cup of wine, she a small loaf of bread. He accepted both, partaking of each, then offering the rest to his parents. "Dionysus and Demeter accept this scion for Olympus," they announced.

Two more approached. He offered a caduceus, she offered a Greek-style helmet. He accepted these and presented the caduceus to his father, the helmet to his mother. "Hermes and Athena accept this scion for Olympus."

Hephaestus and Hestia presented him with a hammer and a candle. He laid these on the stone seat, and they accepted him. The burly duo of Hercules and Ares were next, only offering their gifts of a mace and shield after he moved the stone as a show of strength. Apollo and Artemis were last, offering a bow and arrows, with which he used to snuff the lit candle from across the dais as a display of skill.

At last, only the Magister and Majestrix remained. William took the Rod and Orb from his parents, then prostrated himself before the Holy Couple. "I would offer up all these gifts to you, my Lord and my Lady," he announced, "as I have yet to earn your approval either through leadership or legacy."

The Magister finally threw his hood back, revealing a sharp featured man with darkened eyes. "Is there no one who would have this man as husband?" he asked the assembled.

The crowd remained silent. The Doctor gave Jack a sharp look of warning. Finally, the Majestrix stepped forward.

"There is yet love to be found in this one's heart. Surely one among you may share in that love?"

Again, the crowd remained silent.

The Aphrodite stepped forward. "Has no one loved this one as a man, only as a son?" she asked. "I ask that you find it in your heart to step forward and love him as an equal."

Again there was silence. The Doctor thought she sunded vaguely familiar.

"Then I shall be his equal in all things," she announced and pulled back her hood. "I shall love him as a man if he should have me."

The Doctor and Jack stared in disbelief. "Aphrodite" was a dead ringer for Rose. The Doctor broke protocol and leaned to Ianto. "Who is that?" he whispered.

"We won't know her name until after the marriage ceremony," he whispered back.

"You don't understand," the Doctor hissed, "Miranda looks like a woman I knew back home who was mother to a girl who looks exactly like _her_! This can't be a coincidence!"

Ianto looked dumbfounded.

Majestrix Hera spoke up. "If there are no objections, then we shall proceed with the marriage rites."

The Doctor hissed at Ianto again, "_Tell them_!"

"Lady Miranda had no children nor siblings," he whispered back. "What you propose is highly unlikely," he protested.

Charles glanced back at the duo, noting the concern on the Doctor and Ianto's faces.

"If there be no objections, then my daughter shall be joined in matrimony to William of Wyndham on the next Solstice at the Altar of Glastonbury," the Majestrix announced.

The Doctor breathed a faint sigh of relief at the six month reprieve, but he knew staying too long in this world meant the chances of returning to their own world lessened with each passing moment. This matter would be left to Charles and his family. He hoped it was mere coincidence, and not something else. The fact that his group kept running into doubles of those they knew had to mean something, especially if Greaves had altered history as much as he claimed.

"William of Albion, scion of Wyndham, I bid you rise," the Magister intoned. He had previously taken the sword William entered with, and motioned to Charles and Markham to join him with theirs.

The three men stood before him, swords at the ready.

Markham was joined by Athena and Ares. "I am thy Mentor Chiron. William, I have given you wisdom and defense," he intoned, tapping him on the shoulders with his blade. Athena draped the purple robe Markham had worn around William, kissing him on the forehead as she cinched it closed over his wet tunic. "I dub thee Sir William, Knight of Wales. Carry forth my lessons well."

Charles was joined by Aphrodite and Apollo. "I am thy All-Father Cronus. William, I have given you life and love," he intoned, tapping him again on the shoulders. She draped Charles' scarlet robe over his son, kissing him on each cheek. "I dub thee Sir William, Knight of Scotland. Carry forth my pride, my son."

The Magister was joined by the Majestrix and Hercules. "I am thy Lord Zeus. William, I give thee power and legacy," he intoned, again tapping the prince on his shoulders. She draped a golden robe on top of the others. "I dub thee William, Knight of Avalon. Wield your power wisely."

The three swordsman stood back as William rose and turned to his audience. The Doctor locked eyes with Charles for a moment before turning to Markham. _When the time comes...protect the Prince...the world depends on you._ Markham suddenly had an uneasy feeling. He glanced to Charles as William strode to the throne. He was obviously upset about something, but hiding it almost too well.

The young boys brought out a long case, presenting it to the Magister. They set it on the stone William had previously sat upon. He made a show of revealing _Caledfwich_ to the assembly. He held the sword aloft, turned, and approached William.

"William John Francis Hampton Jones Wyndham, we accept you as King of Al-"

"STOP."

Everyone froze and stared at Charles. He strode to the Throne and grabbed the hilt of the sword from the Magister.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "You can't just-"

"I can and I _will_," Charles informed the man, consciously drawing himself up to be as imposing as possible to the shorter holy man. Their nine inch difference in height helped as much as the fact Charles was literally twice as big. He motioned the Magister back and turned to the audience.

"I have a confession to make," he announced. "William was not the first child born to me." Gasps ran throughout the crowd, Miranda and the Royal entourage looked on in horror.

Will Markham stepped to his friend, cautioning, "Charles, please, this is not the time nor place."

Charles ignored him and continued. "William was born two minutes after his brother, George," he announced. "Unfortunately, George was stillborn. Lord Geoffrey Greaves was able to resuscitate the child, and we, unfortunately, made a pact that day that he should raise that child as his own."

Ignoring the growing murmurs of the crowd, much less the video cameras, he pressed forward. "For the last three decades, much speculation has arisen from the young man spotted with Lord Greaves on several occasions. That man was my other son, George. William's twin brother."

He let this sink in amongst the crowd as he turned to Miranda. "I am so sorry I could not tell you sooner. Can you forgive me?"

Miranda was beside herself, Tosh and Gwen tried to comfort her to no avail.

Charles sighed in defeat and pressed forward. "Lord Greaves never planned to take the throne, only to use me as a proxy. He would have taken my firstborn child to raise, regardless." He turned to the assembled 'Olympians' with rage in his eyes. "Most of you, including your Magister are all to well aware of his true identity, and you allowed this to continue over generations." He turned back to the audience. "This ends now! The man currently known as Lord Geoffrey Greaves is a true immortal and has been shaping this world for his own ends for millennia," he revealed, surveying the assembled witnesses before continuing. "I knew I was never going to take the throne, and I never wanted it. I could only hope my son -correction, my _sons_ would deny Greaves as well."

He turned toward his enthroned son. "I find myself even now questioning how well I know you. Are you William? George? I can not say at this moment, so I do the only thing fair. I make you prove your worth to everyone assembled here."

Charles began swinging the sword, at first he seemed to be judging it's heft and balance, eventually raising it high above his head. Fearing for his life, the prince still sat unmoving, hoping his father would find mercy in his heart. They locked eyes for a long moment. To everyone's surprise, Charles turned and drove the sword deep into the Stone upon the dais.

"Like the old stories, whoever pulls this sword free shall prove himself worthy of being King," he announced, running his hand over the pommel once more, then stepped off the dais and hugged his sobbing wife to him, letting her collapse into his arms. "Ianto, get us the hell out of here," he ordered. The royal staff and time travelers immediately made a circle around the couple and pushed their way out of the Abbey. The Doctor and Charles shared a pained look of accomplishment.

Toshiko Sato only looked back to see her husband and sons left alone on the stage with the prince. The so-called Olympians having fled the stage as Charles' rant exposed them.

For his part, Will Markham grabbed his sons' hands and held them tight as he stood behind the young man he helped raise. Even that was in question, now.

A figure approached him from off the side of the stage. "We could use your help, Master Markham," she said. Will looked to her, his anger showing. Pulling her hood back, "We have a task for you," Sarah Jane Smith informed him.

TBC...

* * *

A/N:

Magister - I have Zjelko/Zeljko Ivanek in mind for the Magister, esp after seeing him again in True Blood under the same title. (I've seen it spelled both ways, my keyboard don't have the function to add the accents to his name.) Too bad Tony Head did an ep in s2 already. :/

Come to think of it, we might use Tim Curry...? Nah, it's Zeljko.

Debated a bit about the identity of Aphrodite, realized it had to be someone the Doctor knew and would f things up. Almost became Donna, but too old for plot, and Martha didn't fit and will be followed up on next. Astrid and Amy too new, and Ace would have been totally left field for the "Professor."

Craig = plot bunny, may/not expand later. Did "Lodger" give him a last name? Went with Lambert to tie him to Doctor for a reason. ...um, apparently, it was "Owens"? eh, whatever.

Next: All Fall Down (or There Will Be Blood)


	8. All Fall Down

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 8 - All Fall Down

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso/Sarah Jane, guest RL celebs, OCs

* * *

As Charles and Miranda were escorted out of Westminster Abbey by their entourage, the shocked crowd parted with no interference. As he helped his wife climb into their carriage, a shadow fell over the group from above.

"_CHAAARLES!_" came a familiar bellow from the hover-copter that now sat barely twenty feet overhead. The guards pushed the crowd back and the vehicle descended.

Jack and the Doctor both reached for their respective weapons, no one thinking to check for any firearms from this group. Charles, however, still wore his ceremonial sword on his hip and drew it as he readied for a fight.

As the craft finally settled, they saw three familiar faces. Capt. Lapidus sat at the controls. A young red-haired man sneered at his father as he opened the door of the craft and emerged, reaching back for the final occupant: a figure cloaked in a white robe stained in red. There was no question among the royal party who was wearing that robe.

"What the fuck do you want, Greaves?" Charles hollered.

The robed figure stopped his hobbled approach and glanced around, taking note of the screens broadcasting from the cameras inside the Abbey. "What did you do, Charles? What did you do to my world?" he accused.

Charles approached him, pointing the sword. "I exposed you to the world, Geoff! What the fuck do you think I've done?" He poked the man with the tip. "I have exposed your treachery and given my son something to think about if he can prove himself worthy of the role he was supposed to play for these people!" He swung the sword out, indicating their audience.

"You've ruined everything, Charles!" he accused.

"I've ruined _nothing_," he countered. "You ruined my life thirty years ago when you chose me," he claimed, then shouted, "_YOU STOLE MY SON!_" He pointed at his lost child.

"You're not my father," George replied in disgust. "I don't even know you."

Charles looked to his firstborn. The heartbreak obvious on his face. "No. No, I'm not. You're right, and I am sorry for that." Tears started to stream down his face. "I am so sorry."

"You don't care for me, and I certainly don't give a damn for you, old man," he proclaimed. "As my first act as King, I hereby call for your execution for interfering in my-"

"Shut the hell up, kid. You are definitely not the King."

George spun to look behind him. Will Markham stood there, flanked by his two young sons, sword in his good left hand.

"If it isn't the gimp," George laughed. "You'll die by his side, you know."

"Better to die alongside a man who knows true honor than a sniveling, sadistic cur like you," he replied, glancing to Greaves. "You're just his lapdog, merely another tool in a long line of pets that mean nothing for him."

"Shut up!" he screamed. "Shut your fat, hairy, ugly face!" He began to charge his brother's guardian, but stopped when Will drew his sword up, pointing it at the prince.

"Boys, go to your mother," he ordered his children. The two cherubs ran to the royal carriage and into their mother's arms. "Now, where were we?"

"Will, no," Charles protested. "This is my fight."

"I've got a personal quarrel with this kid, Charles," he countered, shrugging his injured right arm in it's sling. "I believe yours is a bigger one with Greaves?"

The robed man took a step back and looked from his heir's duel to the large man approaching him. "This isn't fair, Charles!" he spat. "I have no weapon to defend myself!"

"_FAIR? _You stole my son and have manipulated this world for ages," Charles accused him. "The time for fairness and mercy has long since passed for you!" He charged, screaming _"YOUR...TIME...IS...DONE!"_ and, with surprising speed for all assembled as he yelled, made three quick cuts across Greaves' body and neck, finally embedding his blade deep into the man's chest, impaling the sword through his heart as Greaves punched at Charles in the vain hope of defending himself.

George stood and watched in horror as the man who raised him fell, his head rolling away from his body. He slowly turned and faced his own accuser.

"What do you say, boy?" Markham challenged. "Do you yield or face the same fate as your mentor?" he pointed his sword at the lost prince.

George backed away from the swordsman, right into his father. He spun and grabbed the man's lapels. "Please, I'm begging you, show me mercy!" he pleaded. Charles remained stoic, jaw clenching. "_Father, please! _HAVE MERCY!"

Meanwhile, Jack approached a punk looking couple on the sidelines. "Mind if I borrow your bag, miss?"

"Oi? For what?" she asked, annoyed at his distraction from the ongoing drama playing out in front of them.

"Just give it to him!" her blue mohawked boyfriend ordered her.

"Shut it, Dysentery!" she sniped back, pulling her personal items out and handing the large bag to Jack. He gave her a quick thank you and left them to attend to his task.

Charles looked away from his son in disgust and glanced to his wife. That was when he noticed she, among many others, was now watching the view screens instead of the duels in front of her and the assembled crowd. He looked up and what he saw brought a smile to his face. He grabbed his wayward son and turned him to face the screens as well. "Look. Look at that and tell me what you see?"

He held George's head so he faced back to the Abbey. The crowd began cheering as the man's twin had approached the sword his father had embedded and slowly withdrew it from the stone with very little effort. Cheers erupted all around, inside and outside Westminster Abbey, as well as across the Kingdom and the world.

Albion had a new King.

Charles and Miranda locked eyes and smiled at each other.

"no," George muttered, unheard at first. "no, No, NO! _NO!"_

Before Charles could react, his son wheeled and turned on him, revealing the blade he held hidden in his sleeve. He pulled back and thrust at his father's heart.

What landed was a bloody stump.

George and his father looked down at it in horror. They both turned and saw Will Markham standing beside them, still holding his sword in a downward strike, a grim expression on his now blood-spattered face. George's hand lay at their feet.

"_MEDIC!" _Charles bellowed. "Get a Medic over here, now!"

Martha Jones and Owen Harper pushed their way out of the crowd along with several other attending medics mixed in the crowd. The attending guards called for an ambulance, but Charles held them off. "We got our ambulance right here."

Lapidus immediately tried to take off, but was surrounded and forced to leave the copter. Norris left his charges on the royal carriage under the watchful eye of Rhys and the Doctor and took his now former comrade's place. "Who's coming with me?" the pilot asked. "We gotta get him to the hospital, now!"

Charles turned to his wife with a pained expression and held out his hand as Martha and Owen quickly worked to stabilize George for the flight. Miranda nodded and ran across the clearing to join him in the copter. Jack followed, holding a large purse. "I hope you don't mind?" he said and held the bag to the Regent.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asked. Jack nodded grimly. Charles sighed and motioned to several of the guard. "Wrap that body up and stow it onboard, now! Don't touch that sword!"

The guards rushed to pull a blanket from the carriage and do as they were told, much to Miranda's dismay. Jack assured her they had nothing to fear at the moment and they would follow shortly.

Markham approached before they lifted off. "Charles, I'm sorry. It was him or you," he apologized. "I had no choice."

Charles reached out and laid his hand on the man's good shoulder. "I understand, Will," he nodded. He then pushed his friend back and motioned to Norris to lift off. He saw his son William leave the Abbey as they did so. They locked eyes for a moment, Charles holding his blood-spattered against the window, before he turned away to tend his wife.

"Will? What's going on? What did I miss?" he asked, taking in the blood on the street and mixed looks of shock and horror on the assembled crowd. He then noticed that the guards were struggling with someone in a royal pilot's uniform.

Markham motioned him over to the Royal carriage. "Greaves and your brother just showed up. It got messy," he said.

"My father? My mother?" he pleaded, noting the man's face flecked with blood and the dark stain on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Your mother's fine, just upset," he assured his charge. "Your father? I saved his life, possibly at the cost of your brother's."

William stepped back in shock. "What?"

Markham glanced over, seeing Jack and the Doctor approach them. "Your brother tried to kill your father," he said. "I had no choice, but-"

"You killed my brother?" he said in disbelief.

"He took his hand off," the Doctor said, pointing after the copter. "They're on their way to see if they can help him."

William looked between the two men in disbelief. He sat back on the step of the royal carriage, seemingly winded, hands shaking.

"Will?" Markham inquired. "You gonna be okay?"

"Get away from me."

"I had no time, I had to do something to save your father's life," he protested. "Check the cameras-"

"I said, get away from me!" he shouted. Guards came running.

"William-?"

In an instant, William was on his feet, the legendary sword in his hands pointed at his guardian's throat. "You tried to kill my family? I should kill _you!_"

"William, King of Albion, lay your sword down, right now!" the Doctor bellowed.

The young man turned his head in disbelief at what this stranger had just said.

"We saw it on the screens," he continued. "We saw you draw that sword from the stone after your father proclaimed only the Rightful King could remove it."

William glared at him.

"Don't let your first act as King be the murder of a loved one."

"He hurt my family!" William protested, fighting tears.

"I protected your father, my friend, from being killed, Will," Markham countered. "That should count for something, right?"

William let out an anguished cry and dropped the sword. Markham held his arm out and the two men embraced, William offering his apologies. The nearby crowd erupted in applause after the tense stand-off, no matter how momentary.

The Doctor knelt down and picked up the sword, laying it across his arm to offer it to the new King. "Your Majesty," he said.

William looked down in confusion, then took the sword. The crowd cheered again. He looked around in confusion, unsure what to do. Markham stood there with a smirk on his face. "Well, my King?"

William motioned the others to him. "I want to thank all of you in the only way I know how," he said. The others looked on in confusion for a moment. "Please kneel."

The group did as they were told, each taking one knee. William went down the informal line, one by one, tapping them on their shoulders. "Sir William Campbell Markham, for bravery above the call of duty and unwavering loyalty to me and mine, I knight you Lord Protector, Head of Torchwood. Toshiko Sato-Markham, for bravery above the call of duty, and unwavering loyalty to the royal family, I knight you Lady Markham of Torchwood. Ianto Jones, for unwavering loyalty to the royal family, I knight you Sir Ianto of Torchwood." He smiled at his three friends before turning to the travelers.

"To The Doctor of Gallifrey, for bravery above the call of duty and loyalty to me and mine, I knight you, Good Sir Doctor, Lord Knight of TARDIS and Lord of Time. Captain Jack Harkness, for bravery above the call of duty and loyalty to me and mine, I knight you Good Sir Harkness, Lord Knight of Boeshane and Captain of Torchwood Wales. Gwen Cooper, for bravery above the call of duty and loyalty to me and mine, I knight you, Lady Gwen of Cardiff, Torchwood Wales. Lastly, Rhys Williams, for bravery and loyalty to me and mine, I knight you, Good Sir Rhys of Cardiff, Torchwood Wales."

"Now rise, my good friends and colleagues, rise and be acknowledged by the people you have served and protected with your actions," he declared. William stood back and surveyed his subjects. "We seem to be missing a couple?" he mused. "I'll see to them, soon enough," he decided.

The two Markham boys suddenly rushed the group, hugging their parents as the others congratulated their fellows and the crowd erupted again in applause.

"I've got a question," Rhys asked the Doctor. "First off, how did he know where you and Jack are from, and secondly, how come I only get 'Good Sir' when the rest of you lot get 'Lord' and 'Lady'?"

"All in due time, Rhys, all in due time," he chuckled and stepped to Markham, leaving his reluctant companion flustered. "Whenever you get a minute? It's time we had a talk."

Will Markham shifted the son in his arm to his uninjured side, looked the Time Lord in the eye and nodded.

"But wait-" Rhys protested.

Jack threw an arm over his friend's shoulders. "Maybe next time, you don't tackle and try to beat anyone up?" He winked at Markham, who returned an amused glance.

"But-"

"Spoilers!" the Doctor mused, passing back to their carriage. Rhys threw his hands up in defeat, as Gwen escorted him along.

"What is going on out here?" the Magister demanded, finally leaving the Abbey. "What did you just do?"

William stood defiant. "I rightfully took my kingship as dictated by the Regent, and have knighted these good people as tribute to their efforts on my behalf these last few days," he announced.

"No! I did not declare you king!" he protested. "These knightings are struck from the record!"

William pointed out the news cameras and then swept his arm to the crowd. "I think these good people bear witness otherwise," he said. "What say you, good people?" he shouted.

Cheers of triumph erupted once more from the people. The Magister stumbled back in surprise. "NO!"

"Oh yes, Magister," he declared. "And I think my father, the Regent, and I have much to discuss about what is going to happen to you lot, next. The man known as Lord Greaves is dead, we no longer serve him in any capacity."

"No!"

"Yes. I am no longer bound by your rules, no matter what oath I took in there," he said, pointing back into the Abbey. "Don't worry, I know this won't happen overnight, but there will be changes made, I can assure you of that, Lord High Magister," he said in contempt.

The man stumbled and ran back into the Abbey, only to fight his way through the people finally pouring out. They eventually lost sight of him in the crowd.

King William turned to his company. "I think it best we retire to the castle for the celebrations, shall we?"

"And what of your family at the hospital?" Will asked.

"That's what I said, we're going to check on my family, then retire to the castle," he corrected himself with a wink to his mentor.

"Sometimes, it's good to be the King, eh?" Will chuckled, patting him on the back.

The group agreed and the entourage quickly piled into the two carriages, with Jack and Albion-Rhys driving the carriages to the hospital, allowing the Markham family to enjoy the ride with their new king, while the rest piled into the second carriage.

As they entered the now high security hospital, the group was immediately ushered to the guarded floor where Charles stood over Miranda, waiting. "My son, our king," Charles greeted. William immediately went to them, hugging them tightly.

"Have they said anything yet?" Markham inquired.

Charles shook his head. "It's still too early."

"Charles, I am sorry-"

The Regent shook his head again and held up his hand. "You did what you needed to do. You saved my life and I thank you for that, Will." He broke away from his family and hugged his friend tight. "No apologies necessary."

At that moment, the surgeon appeared. "Your Highnesses?"

The family turned to greet him, noting his momentary shock at seeing his patient's double as well as newly crowned King before him.

"I, uh, I have done all we can, and it looks like the damage was too severe. There is no reasonable way to reattach the hand at this juncture. There was just too much damage to the connecting bone structure," he informed them. "On the other hand-uh, excuse the phrasing- there already seems to be some sort of healing process taking place. We managed to reroute and cauterize the main blood vessels, but there was evidence that some sort of accelerated healing had already begun?"

Charles nodded and looked out the window, turning his back on the rest of the group. Will and the Doctor shared a look of concern. The common thought of all three being whether the deed of the previous night was now having an effect on the young man?

"Do you need any of my blood?" King William offered.

"I appreciate the gesture, your Highness, but as I said, whatever is happening with, er, your brother? It's not under our control, anymore," he explained. "He's already shown remarkable progress, as if weeks or months have already passed, but we watched it happen just now." He gave a nervous glance to the Regent and Markham, the latter of whom kept an eye on the former.

"That's good news, I guess," Miranda offered the surgeon before turning to her husband. "Right?"

Charles gave a noncommittal shrug, still staring out the window. She tried to hug him from behind, but he ignored her. She finally dropped back into one of the waiting room chairs beside Tosh. By this time, Gwen had pulled the boys over to sit with her and Rhys while the others talked.

The surgeon finally broke the awkward silence, noting, "I should really get back and check on him. You're more than welcome to come in and see him for yourselves in a few minutes?"

"That won't be necessary," Charles replied. "I want him sedated until he's well enough to be moved, then taken home to the castle until further notice."

"I'm the King, now," William reminded him. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Charles finally turned and faced his son. "I am still your father, and his father as well," he reminded them in a cool tone, pointing towards the other room. "I still have some say over my family, young man. This includes your brother."

"As you wish, sir," the surgeon replied and left.

William stood defiant against his fuming father. He finally offered up his sword. "Why don't you go home and get some rest?" he suggested. "Please?"

Charles held his son's gaze for a moment, then relented and hugged his son-King to him, kissing him on the head. "I'm sorry. I still love you, Will. You'll always be my little prince to me."

"I love you, too, Dad," he replied as Charles broke the embrace and took the proffered weapon.

"How'd you manage to break this free so fast, anyway?"

"You mean you didn't use that phasing thingy from the other night?"

The Doctor fished into one of his pockets and held up the gem in question. "You mean this? I've had it on me ever since then."

"So you mean whoever tried to pull the sword out first would have been crowned King?" William asked. The Doctor gave a non-committal shrug.

"I thought I wedged that in there pretty good?" Charles mused. He squeezed his son's bicep. "You're stronger than you look, kiddo," he chuckled. William laughed it off.

The Regent regarded his son a long moment, then looked to his wife. "Look, I am sorry about not telling you about George before today," he apologized again. "That deal with Greaves nearly killed me, but I did what I thought was best for his survival," he admitted. "I had hoped we could have cleared this up a long time ago, but Greaves became too demanding. That's why I forced him to stay away. His mere presence was a reminder of what he had and what I had agreed to. Nobody else knew except a few of us."

Miranda gave him a dirty look then glared at Markham. "I only found out a few years ago, myself," he explained to her. "It wasn't until well after I took over for my father in Torchwood, and after I became Will's guardian."

Charles nodded. "Wilf and I didn't tell him until I decided William needed to know about a possible kidnapping plot," he admitted.

"I can't say I understand, Charles," she replied. "Neither can I say I can forgive you. Right now." She stood and went to him, staring him down. "We have lots to talk about, but right here, right now is not the time nor place."

He nodded. "I know, and again, I'm sorry." He reached out to her.

She pulled herself together for a moment. "We have other matters to attend to, you know."

He nodded again and turned to their son. "Are you coming with us, now?"

"I think I need to see my brother, first," he admitted. "I'll be along, later."

"As you wish," Charles replied, patting him on the back, then turned to the others. "Y'all coming?"

"Yes, sir," Ianto chirped, then glanced to Tosh expectantly.

She gave him a scornful look, then turned to her husband. "Are you staying with our new king?"

"For the moment. We'll be back in plenty of time." She nodded and went to gather the boys from Gwen and Rhys.

"Come on, guys! Want to take a ride in the sky with Uncle Champ?" Charles asked them. They seemed excited at the prospect.

Will pulled Ianto aside for a moment. "You take good care of them, you hear me?" he said in a dead serious tone.

Ianto gave him a confused look, "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"You'll understand later," was all he offered as the group moved to leave, heading for the hover pad on the roof, where Norris remained waiting. Will turned to the time traveling quartet. "What about you lot? Shouldn't you be going?"

The Doctor motioned the couple to leave. "If it's all right with your Highness, I'd like to see your brother's wound for myself? Jack?"

"Color me curious," he replied.

The two Wills nodded their assent and the quartet moved to his private room, noting the armed guard posted outside made it easy to discover. They each took up positions around the bedside.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the severed limb, reading the results and frowning. He glanced to Will as Jack inquired, "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing," the Doctor replied, still holding Markham's gaze. "This young man is perfectly healthy, despite having his hand chopped off just a short while ago. Trust me, it's not something you're likely to forget." Will rubbed his injured shoulder, a concerned look on his face.

"Hey, I kept that hand in good condition for you," Jack reminded him with a smirk.

The Doctor glanced to King William. "If I were you, I'd burn it and spread the ashes as soon as I could," he suggested. "Just to be safe."

"And what about Greaves?" Markham asked. "What do we do with his body?"

"Charles already made a number of suggestions on that," the Doctor replied. "I leave that up to you."

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Jack inquired. "After all-"

"It's not our concern, Jack," the Doctor cut him off. "No offense to your Highness, but we should never have gotten involved with this world. We should never have come here."

"But you did and you are, Doctor," William replied. "We cannot change that fact, now. No matter how much you try."

"We shall be out of your way as soon as we can, William," the Doctor replied. "We only have a few minor tasks to accomplish before we leave, then, with any luck, you will never have to deal with us ever again."

"Such as?"

The Doctor and Markham exchanged concerned glances. "Leave that to me, Will," his mentor advised. "I'll see this lot are taken care of and gone as soon as possible."

"Is this what you do, Doctor? Bluster in, cause trouble, and then leave others to clean up your mess?"

"William!"

"No, Will, I am correct in my assumptions, aren't I, Doctor?"

"I don't like to get involved, but there are times when I can't avoid it," he explained. "If not for our 'blustering', then the plot to replace your Highness would have gone off without a hitch, and likely cost you your life," he reminded the new king. "Or am I wrong on that count?"

"I was handling myself quite fine without the assistance your companion's distraction afforded me," he protested.

"Not according to the tape Lord Greaves showed me," the Doctor countered. "On top of Lake distracting Markham-and excuse me for postulating here, but also likely killing the both of you in those woods if not for our interfering blustering-he would have had your twin here sitting on the throne, wearing your proper crown by now, and don't forget he had already planned to kill your father last night at Glastonbury. You alongside him, if you weren't dead, already! Another thing we managed to disrupt, your Lordship!" he scowled.

Markham started to interject, but William held his hand up for silence. "You may be correct, Doctor," he admitted. "For that, I will allow you and your companions to enjoy tonight's festivities, but I want you lot gone by morning. Do you understand me?"

"I would like nothing better, your Highness," the Doctor snapped and strode from the room, Jack following.

Will regarded his protégé for a long moment as he returned his gaze to his brother.

"You have something to say, Markham?"

Will kept his counsel on his real opinion, instead opting for, "No, other than we should be along ourselves, your Majesty."

"I'll say when I'm ready to leave," he fumed, glaring at his twin lying helpless and asleep before him.

Will glanced out the door after the departed men. He knew where his path would lead him next. It was no longer as this man's guardian or mentor.

* * *

As they left the hospital, the Doctor noted that the Royal Guard had limited access for the time being, but allowed the travelers to leave in their carriage with a minor escort back to Wyndham Castle, leaving the other for King William and Markham.

Upon returning, they were informed of the evening's festivities, originally planned for the combined Solstice and Regent's birthday celebrations, but now expanded to include the Coronation. The Royal Family would have a formal reception and dinner, followed by a Royal Ball. The Regent had left them invitations to attend a special birthday celebration following, the invitation note saying only, "Formal dress is to be optional." Jack and Rhys had a laugh at that, reminding Gwen of the origin and leaving the oblivious Doctor to his own ruminations.

An hour before the Reception, Craig Lambert, the page the Doctor had met earlier, came for him. "The Regent wishes to see you down in Medical," he informed the Time Lord, before escorting the man to his destination.

Charles was waiting for him alone. "You wanted to see me?"

"I hear you talked to William after we left?"

"I merely wanted to see what condition George was in, then explained we would be on our way as soon as we could," the Time Lord informed him. "He seemed inclined to agree we should be moving on."

Charles nodded and rose from his chair. "Follow me," he said, motioning to Craig to bring along what appeared to be a bowling ball bag. He lead them to the dungeon cell where Jackson Lake was being kept. He ordered Craig and the guards to leave them alone as they entered the cell. Charles sat in the chair, flipping it backwards first, and dropped the bag at his side.

"You talked to William this morning?" Charles asked the former head of Torchwood Royal.

"What of it?" the man scoffed, eyeing the Doctor, who kept his own counsel.

"What did you tell him?"

Lake shrugged. "Nothing."

"What did you tell him?"

"I said nothing," he explained. "He didn't even say anything, he just sat there and stared at me until your friends here came for him." He nodded toward the Doctor.

"He didn't say anything? You didn't say anything?"

"Check the tapes, Charles," he said, pointing to a corner with a small black bubble in the ceiling. "You didn't even have to come down here for that."

Charles gave a weary sigh. "Why did you do it?"

"You don't get it, do you Charles?" he laughed.

"Tell me!" he demanded, losing control of himself for a moment.

"You know why, Charles," he replied. "You've always known why. Lord Greaves is true power. You, me? We're just pawns."

"Lord Greaves is dead."

Lake scoffed. "Impossible. There's no way to kill him."

"I took his head."

"Liar."

"I'll have someone bring you the video," he snarked. "He confronted me outside Westminster. I took it upon myself to stop him from disrupting events further." He held Lake's astonished gaze a long moment. "I am so tired of these games, Jackson. It's time they were at an end. Much like your master."

The color drained from Lake's face as the Doctor flinched at the mention of Charles' choice of wording.

"We've kept the body separated. You could say he's holding my sword for me," he said in an unhumored tone.

"no."

Charles grabbed the bag and tossed it to Lake. "Yes."

Lake had to confirm it for himself and opened the bag. Inside it was the head of Geoffrey Greaves, his eyes glancing about before focusing on Lake. His mouth forming words which went unheard without the air to sound them.

"Now tell me why my son came down here."

* * *

**The Royal Reception**

The Doctor lead his companions into the reception area, following Ianto's lead. "You can stand here, behind the Royal Reception line, just try not to make a fuss," he informed them. He then handed back their IdentiPADDs from the Coronation. "You remember how to use these?"

"Point them at the guest and the PADD will identify who they are for us?" Gwen asked, glancing up from the PADD she was sharing with her husband.

"Yes, now don't cause any trouble you lot," he reminded them, giving Jack a stern look of warning. He looked up from the PADD he was to share with the Doctor and gave his best "Who, me?" face, adding a wink to his former lover's double.

Everyone stood at attention as the Family was announced and took their respective places. The first grouping consisted of other royals, diplomats and various political types, most of which the visitors did not know. Gwen and the Doctor found it somewhat interesting from a comparative historical point of view. Jack and Rhys could not have been more bored. The Magister and several of his "Olympian" associates gave the entire group a cool welcome, eyeing the strangers acting as additional guards.

The Doctor had to fight a laugh at hearing their former Prime Minister, "Harriet Jones, House of Commons," introduce herself to each person in line. The others had no clue why this was funny to him or who she really was other than Jack, who recalled her last act and sacrifice back home against the Daleks. Harriet was too confused by his reaction to be offended.

The second grouping seemed to have the other traveler's attention better, as these were entertainers, artists, and musicians from all over, who had been invited to perform for the Regent's birthday celebration. As such, this group seemed less formal and more friendly than the previous, most having met Charles at one point or another.

Jack and Rhys were amazed to learn that Freddie Mercury still survived here, even if in semi-retirement with his husband, Elton John. Gwen and the Doctor found it more interesting that John Lennon lived when Yoko Ono took the bullet meant for her husband; while Pete Best never left the Beatles and the group became famous as a five man band until losing George (and Paul's wife Linda) to cancer, years earlier. A few other scattered favorites amongst the musicians caught their eyes before the actors began filing through.

They learned that not only had Monty Python continued, but it had become an institution much like Saturday Night Live in their US, with various comedians filtering through the Python ranks up to the present day. (Although the Doctor did admit one lean blond man in particular seemed annoyingly familiar, which Jack and Rhys laughed off as he passed them with his burly compatriot/occasional lover and their wives. Gwen (and Jack) thought the pair were unabashedly sexy, regardless, teasing Rhys into jealousy. Of course, Jack tried flirting with Sir Stephen Fry, too, only to find out he was only interested in his wife, Mrs. Edna Fry.)

The Royal Shakespeare Company came through next, with the quartet impressed that they got to mingle with people they had long admired on screen and stage back home. The Company was held in higher prestige here, having spread over to the Colonies, mostly due to the patronage of the previous monarch, King William-Frederick I (often referred to as "Wilf"), and his Regent, Charles. They learned that almost every major award winner had at least briefly attended one of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Schools of Acting. Luckily, their bodies of work remained familiar, for the most part.

At the dinner (emceed by Sirs Fry and Cleese), they noticed that most of the politicos were seated to one side of the room, while the entertainers were seated on the other. With a few notable exceptions, most kept to their respective groups. The dance that followed at 19:30 was a formal ball, headed by the Royal Family.

While William and Miranda began the dance, King William was allowed to properly meet his betrothed, "Aphrodite", for the first time, even if she kept her hood up. The Magister allowed Charles to bring her to their respective mates, switching partners so the royal parents could see their son dance with his betrothed. Their immediate parties soon joined in as did a number of the rest of the attendees.

Will and Toshiko joined in first, due to their unique status, followed by various other Royals and dignitaries. Of the travelers, Gwen soon led Rhys to the floor, as well as Jack holding Ianto up to his promise of a dance, even as the Magister and Majestrix took the floor. The Doctor amused himself watching (read: trying to get another look at the mysterious Aphrodite) until he happened to spot another familiar face amongst the crowd. He finally summoned the courage and approached her. "May I have this dance, milady?"

Sarah Jane Smith was taken aback until she recognized her suitor. "Oh, it's you again. You're not going to squeeze the breath out of me again, are you?"

"No promises," he smiled as he led her to the floor. "My apologies for my earlier behavior," he admitted. "I thought you were someone I knew a long time ago that I let get away."

"Is there any chance you're going to let me in on who you really are?" she inquired as they began waltzing.

He considered it a moment. "Let's just say a friend. Who got lost on his way to somewhere else, and who was making the best out of a bad situation?"

"Oh, is that all?" she chuckled. He had to laugh with her, while fighting the urge to kiss her. He had to remind himself again this was not the dear friend he knew.

This couple did not go unnoticed by several others. One person in particular was not happy to see them together.

"What's wrong, Will?" Tosh prodded, directing him away from backing into Jack once again.

"Reminds you of when we met, doesn't it?" he offered, changing the subject. "I was still new to Torchwood, trying to please my father while playing nanny, bodyguard, and teacher to a certain rambunctious young prince," he chuckled.

"I was the eager new recruit, having been handpicked from Special Services to act as Lady Miranda's personal attaché," she mused, then tossing the king's parents a glance. "It's all their fault, you know," she giggled. "It was at his birthday ball that we got pushed together."

"No, that pushing came later, after the ball," he teased, kissing her. He looked into her eyes before continuing. "What would you do without me?"

"Have a party," she laughed, before realizing he was serious. "Will? What's going on?"

He glanced to the Doctor and Sarah Jane, then back to his wife. "I might have to leave for a while. There are some things I have to attend to."

"Like what?"

He sighed. "Just a few loose ends that need tying up from the last few days, among other things."

"How long will you be gone?"

He pulled her tight. "I love you, you know."

"Will?"

He glanced over to see they were about to collide with Jack and Ianto again. Jack seemed pleased with himself, while Ianto wanted to be anywhere else. Will nodded to the pair, "Switch?"

"If you don't mind?" Ianto pleaded, glancing to Tosh for confirmation.

As they switched partners, Will kissed Tosh on the cheek then leaned into Ianto's ear, "Be good to her." This prompted confused looks from him and Tosh, as he didn't exactly keep sotto vocce.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, curious as to what the trio was discussing.

"I'll tell you later," he replied, glancing again to the Doctor, who watched the couples switch off with mild interest. Jack and Will then almost bumped into Charles and Miranda. "It's time, Charles." A solemn look passed between the two friends as Charles nodded in feigned understanding.

Miranda and Jack shared questioning looks. Neither knew what their dance partners were discussing as the couples stepped away from each other.

"You know what?" Jack finally asked.

"Hmm?" Will inquired distractedly.

"You're a lousy dancer," he chuckled as they nearly collided with Gwen and Rhys. Will buried his face in Jack's shoulder, seemingly laughing until Jack realized he was crying. He didn't know what else to do but hold his new friend close.

Meanwhile, the Doctor kept trying to dance closer to King William and his partner, but both made an obvious effort to keep a distance between themselves. Jack also tried to steer Will closer, but it was difficult dancing with the sad, burly man with two left feet. He didn't realize at first Will was actually making an effort to distance himself from both his wife and his king.

By 21:30, Charles let it be known he was heading to his birthday ball soon, and all were invited. Most of the remaining entertainers soon filed out, with the royal entourage close behind. Only King William stayed longer, with his Aphrodite, the Magister and Majestrix, and Sarah Jane Smith also remaining of the original party along with many politicians wanting to start the favoritism as soon as they could.

William didn't stay too long after that.

TBC...

Next: Coronary


	9. Coronary

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 9 - Coronary

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso/Sarah Jane, guest RL celebs, OCs

* * *

**Before the reception**

"Tell me why my son came down here," Charles demanded again of Jackson Lake.

"I told you, we didn't say anything to each other," he protested, staring at the still-living head of Geoffrey Greaves soundlessly screaming inside the bag on his lap.

Charles turned his head slightly to his side. "Doctor, is there any way we can hear what Geoff is trying to say?"

"This is wrong, Charles," he protested.

"You think I'm going to chance making him whole once more?" he pointed out. "Can you help or not?"

The Doctor sighed, then motioned Lake back as he looked in the bag to see for himself what condition the animated head was in. "Looks like a clean cut," he noted.

"It was a good blade," Charles stated simply, glaring at Lake.

The Doctor gave him a stern look then turned back to Greaves. He scanned him with his sonic screwdriver, adjusting it until they heard a faint whisper. "Like tuning an old radio," he remarked as he slowly adjusted the wavelength and Greaves' voice came crackling forth from the alien rod.

"Kill you for this Charles!" he exclaimed in an electric voice. "Kill all of you! Doctor! I will destroy you and take your TARDIS to-"

The Time Lord switched his screwdriver off. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" he asked, noting the head became even angrier once he realized he could no longer hear himself. Knowing Jack Harkness, he was sure it was torture for his ancient counterpart, the man known here as Geoffrey Greaves.

Charles leaned toward the head. "I want answers. Now."

The Doctor switched his screwdriver back on. "Kill you! Every last one of you! _DEAD!_"

"That isn't what I asked," Charles informed him as the Doctor switched off again. "I want answers, and we either do it this way or else. I'm not in a mood to play twenty questions with you blinking answers," he informed the man.

Greaves got the hint, even as he glared at the burly ginger who was his only means of communication at this point. He finally mouthed, "Fine, I'll behave."

"Good. First question, which son of mine was with you today? I remind you, any answer we think you are lying about, we burn your body as you watch, then drop your head at sea. I'm thinking Antarctica."

Greaves scowled. "I kept George. The way he treated you should have been obvious."

Charles breathed a small sigh of relief. "I have been informed that you planned a nuclear holocaust through George. How far along was that plan? Has anything been set into motion, yet?"

"How did you-?"

Charles nodded to the Doctor. "Jack managed to overpower George, he was drugged and admitted it with very little prodding."

"None of the codes had been changed, yet," he admitted after a minute. "Only a few protocols which would have made it easier for us to take control."

"Can these be reversed?"

Greaves scowled again. "Yes."

"I have a question," the Doctor spoke up. "How is that despite all the changes you made to the timeline, our compatriots still managed to exist, here and now?"

"I cannot say, Time Lord," he grumbled.

"Surely, the names if not the faces were familiar to you?" he continued. "From what you said to me earlier, you tried to make sure none of them ever existed. Yet you obviously failed. Even Miranda looks like Jackie, and now this 'Aphrodite' looks like Rose," he noted. "Who is she, Greaves? Is that really Rose Tyler? Were you going to marry the children of this woman? Why?"

Greaves remained silent.

"He asked you a question, Geoff," Charles said gruffly.

"She is no relation to Miranda or Jackie that I know of," he finally admitted. "Demand a background DNA typing from the Magister if you don't believe me."

"I hear you don't mind that kind of thing, Greaves, adding your DNA into Royal family lines again and again over the centuries," the Doctor inquired. "What's one more generation of your intermixed blood?"

"I said you can do the DNA test," he repeated. "I am not entirely sure of her origins, but that is not the Rose Tyler I knew, the one who cursed me once upon a time."

"You have control over the Magister?" Charles asked.

"Yes."

"Then how is it you could keep your rage against us for so long and not recognize that woman?" the Doctor demanded.

"There were a handful of candidates for the Queen Consort, Aphrodite," he replied. "I advised him against using that one months ago. Told him I wanted her for myself. I never had the opportunity to follow up before the ceremony. Too busy making other plans before you showed up, Doctor."

The Doctor pulled himself up and looked away. He suddenly realized their silent companion and prisoner. "What about him? Why does this Jackson look so much like his ancestor?"

Greaves smiled.

"What are you talking about, Doctor?" Charles asked.

"I met the original Jackson Lake in my world," he explained. "He was duped by an alien recording device into thinking he was me for a time. I managed to help him recover his memories and together we defeated the Cybermen invading London in 1851."

"What are Cybermen, and where is London?" Jackson asked. Charles looked to the Time Lord for answers as well.

"Seriously? You don't have London here? Where are we?"

"Londinium," Jackson answered.

The Doctor looked to Greaves' head. "You kept the old name?"

"Some. I told you, this world was mine," he gloated.

"There was never any invasion by Cybermen? Daleks? Autons? Slitheen? Silurians, Sea Devils, or even Ice Warrior Martians? Not even a Macra?"

The two local men eyed him in their ignorance of these names.

"You never existed on this world, Doctor," Greaves informed him. "Not until now."

"Then how do you explain Torchwood being founded here after-?" he stopped as he realized what was going on. "A Schrödinger's Paradox, eh?"

"What are you talking about, Doctor?" Charles asked.

The Time Lord turned to Jackson. "How do your files describe me?"

"As you look now?" he replied, perplexed.

"Not as any other appearance? Not even how I appeared when I first arrived and, quite literally, ran into you and Markham?"

Lake realized what he was getting at and shook his head.

"Doctor?" Charles prodded.

"This was the 'booby trap' he mentioned at Glastonbury," he informed the Regent before glancing to the head. "Isn't it?"

Greaves smiled. "You can't escape me, Doctor."

"Then you forget one of the primary rules of time travel, Greaves," he said. "You can't harm me or my friends until I have taken care of that bit of trouble in your established history."

"But if you don't go back, won't our history change, as well?" Charles asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," he said. "Like I told you earlier, I could go back and retrieve Greaves from when he first arrived in your distant past, when he was still Jack. The thing is, if I do that, most of you will never have existed," he grimly explained. "Billions of lives as yet unlived at that point. Not even I can alter history like that. I've tried. I've failed."

"No longer the Time Lord Triumphant?" Greaves sneered.

The Doctor was tempted to turn off his screwdriver to shut him up. "You still didn't answer my question: How does Jackson look identical to his ancestor?"

All three men looked to Greaves for an answer. Greaves laughed. "He _is_ the original, Doctor."

Jackson Lake's eyes widened in horror as he fell back against the head of his bed in shock. "no."

"Every so often, I give him a blood transfusion to keep him young," he admitted. "Then every couple decades, I make Jackson retire, allowing others -under my control, of course- to run Torchwood. At that point, I wipe his memory, convince him he is someone else for a while, then repeat and reintroduce him as his own descendant. This is his third 'life' as Jackson," he explained. "Not that hard, when I have numerous identities set up over the world to escape into, myself," he boasted. "You'll see what I mean, soon enough, Doctor."

The Doctor noted again the usage of this man's blood to rejuvenate. He wondered if Jack would ever discover this ability or if there was something else to it that Greaves was not sharing.

"How do you break his conditioning?" Charles asked. "How do we cure him of this...this identity crisis?"

"You don't."

"Geoff, I am sure that Jackson would like to treat you as you did him, and I am willing to leave this cell and let him," Charles warned. "You can't even cry out for help or mercy if we do."

Greaves looked nervously between the two men he could still see, trying in vain to see Lake, who was behind him now.

"I would suggest you answer us," the Doctor informed him.

Greaves considered his limited options. "Fine. Jackson? _Herald Markham, Jackson. You Are Not Alone_," he intoned, adding another phrase neither Charles or Lake understood, but the Doctor recognized as his native 51st Century dialect.

"What did he say?" Charles asked, watching Lake's face go blank. The Doctor moved to the man, making sure he wasn't going to injure himself.

"I can't say, right now," the Doctor admitted, wanting to ask Jack what his double meant first.

Lake suddenly screamed and grabbed his head. "NO! I remember! I remember all of it! Gods protect me, I remember!"

Charles moved to hold him down, producing a syringe from his jacket pocket. "I grabbed it just in case," he said and handed it to the Doctor. "You sedate him while I hold him," he ordered. Lake soon drifted off and the cell was quiet once more.

"Anything else you'd like to confess before your execution, Geoff?" Charles asked. "This is the last time you will see the Doctor and be able to speak."

Greaves eyed the Time Lord. "Happy hunting, my old friend. You are, after all, the master of your own destiny."

"Is he here?" the Doctor inquired. "Is the Master here, too?"

Greaves smiled again. "Spoilers." he laughed.

The Doctor shut his screwdriver off, rendering the man's laughing head silent once more. Charles summoned the guards to release them as the Time Lord went to close the bag. "Farewell, Jack Harkness, Face of _Boe_shane," he whispered and he closed the zipper over the ancient face.

Greaves seemed to understand what he meant with that and began a silent protest that no one would ever hear. The Doctor did not regret handing the bag back to the Regent as they left the cell.

"Get a medic down here to examine Lake," Charles ordered Craig as they strode back down the hall. "Include a psychiatrist. He'll need it."

"Yes, Sir," Craig replied, making a note on his PADD.

The Doctor spoke up. "I thought I saw on the computer the other night that you lot were getting ready to head to Mars, is that right?"

"Where?"

"Ares?" he guessed. "Next planet out, red, dusty?"

"Um, yeah, the Ares Mission should be a go soon. Why?"

"Just a word of caution, have them triple check all their filters, and don't drink the water." Charles and Craig looked at him in disbelief. "Trust me, that was one of the mistakes I mentioned in there. I tried to change what happened, but they still died," he explained, then seemed to realize something. "Come to think of it, history has a habit of correcting itself. That might explain why our friends back home are still here," he mused.

The duo could only look on in confusion as the Doctor kept walking. Charles knew better than to inquire of the various invasions he mentioned in front of Craig. For now.

* * *

**After the Reception**

As they entered the Royal Albert Hall to the Regent's Annual Birthday Bash, the time travelers found it set up slightly different from what they knew back home. Three main stages were linked by raised walkways so performers could cross above the crowd. Each one had a different band taking turns playing a song, as Charles had allowed that the party had already begun in earnest without him.

The group listened for a minute as they realized it was a medley of several variations of "Crazy" being played at once. Willie Nelson and Freddie Mercury played their guitars and shared a microphone on the left side stage, while Aerosmith and BuckNaked Laddies (with Brian May) shared the main stage, with Steven Tallarico and Ed Robertson singing their distinct versions in duet, while on the right hand stage were SealHenry and Alanis Morrisette in duet, and Roland Gift. Jack was tempted to point out Freddie's and Roland's songs only used "crazy" as part of their title, but the medley flowed too well for him to ruin it for the rest.

Charles and his group were greeted with enthusiastic cheers as he made his way to the main stage and conferred with someone they didn't recognize before he headed backstage. As the bands playing on the stages finished their song medley, all three stages went dark and curtains pulled closed. The concert-goers nearest the stage, now including the royal entourage, could hear equipment being moved around, but no one was allowed near the stage, the ushers and guards having been ordered to keep the crowd back due to the Regent's presence.

After around fifteen minutes, the audience began to hear a hard bass strumming, accented by hard hits from keyboards and drums accompanied by a section of violins and guitars. The curtains raised and a large figure in a red silk toga with a black hooded robe strode to center stage. There was little doubt who it was.

A silver-haired man in a leather jacket and gloves seemed to take up the conductor's position, directing the flow of the dark melodic beats accompanying the singer's deep, grumbling baritone, especially when screaming the chorus.

_Long ago, in days I'm told_

_Were ruled by Lords of Knowledge Pure_

_Oh, I know I lived this life before_

_Somehow I know now, these truths to be sure_

_I lived a thousand years in darkness all alone_

_Inside my mind with just my madness locked in stone_

_I held my breath, trying to scream_

_Ran out of air, couldn't breatheI wake up stuck in a dream_

_Wasting away, the fears of being me_

_All alo-o-one_

_My Heart of sto-o-one_

_I put my life in a noose _

_I've had enough of abuse_

_With nothing to lose but my shame_

_I'm breaking through these chains_

_And now I'm dangerous_

_Hateful, outrageous_

_He haunts us_

_Watching. Waiting. _

_An-ti-cipating_

_Why won't you diiie?_

_Just leave us and diiiiie!_

_My shattered heart flowed through my broken voice _

_My queen did smile and she did cry _

_My smiles bled a thousand lies_

_A red-teared river flowed _

_Your broken lives between us _

_Her majesty's tears, My pauper's blood, _

_An angels breath belied the devil's trust_

_My soul madly crying to her On a night such as this_

_An angel's kiss _

_the devil's lust_

_History twisted to His designs_

_No one to ever know the extent of His crimes!_

_The sky ripped open, the shadows fed, _

_The moon turned out, the stars burn dead_

_He haunts us_

_Watching, waiting, _

_An-ti-cipating_

_Why won't you di-ie?_

_Just leave us and diiiiie!_

_I don't know where I'm going_

_You can carry me there_

_carry me to my grave!carry me to my grave!_

_Come mourning, you sing_

_Dream a dream in agonymake my dream Reality_

_the sweetest dream we'll never dream_

_He haunts us_

_Watching, waiting, _

_An-ti-cipating_

_Why won't you di-ie?_

_Just leave us and diiiiie!_

_Sneer at death, fearing no loss of pride_

_Living down through all these Centuries_

_Deja vu or what you please_

_History is just his tease_

_The Gallows Truth to all who do or die_

_Our yesterdays all laid bare_

_A marathon of heartbreak moments_

_That I can't share_

_Bear with me, Bear with me_

_Be with me..._

_For every breath I live to see_

_The only thing he can't take,_

_The guilt that remains in my wake_

_Is this a blessing or is it a curse?_

_Will it go on forever? Is it over tonight?_

_I stare in the mirror, My eyes refuse to blink_

_No Sympathy for the Devils in my life_

_The horrors I allowed, give me pause to think_

_Show me a way to set my soul free..._

_There was a time when I knew just what I was living for_

_There was a time and the time was so long ago_

_And I never really sleep _

_anymore..._

The crowd stood aghast in silence as the music died down. Before the crowd could properly react, the band struck up another song, distracting them with Bohemian Rhapsody as Charles threw his hood back, then jumped off the stage, embracing and kissing a shocked and crying Miranda.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, holding her tight.

The party raged on about them.

Gwen and Rhys danced to most of the songs, even as he protested she was wearing him out. Jack danced with whoever was nearby, frequently changing partners. At one point, he joined Lennon's Canadian protégé, BuckNaked Laddies' co-founder Steven Page, onstage for a duet of "Foolish Love", directing his lines between his partner and an obviously embarrassed Ianto, who switched between Toshiko (when not dancing with Will) and tolerating Jack's gyrations as much as he could, while protesting he should be keeping an eye on Charles and Miranda.

"Fine, I forgive you, is that what you wanted to hear?" he finally protested after the duet.

Jack pulled him close, whispering, "I know you're not my Ianto, but let me pretend. Let me have one more night."

"I-I can't Jack," he protested before Jack kissed him once more.

"Let him go, Jack," Markham interrupted them, allowing his wife to lead Ianto away as a slow dance began playing.

Jack sighed. "It's so hard. My Ianto died in my arms, and seeing him-"

Markham pulled Jack close and began swaying to the music. "It is," he said. "It's always hard," he teased, getting Jack to smile again as they moved together. "Letting go I mean." A serious expression then crossed his face. "I'm ready to leave whenever you are."

Jack glanced over to the other couple. "Don't you want to spend another night with her?"

Markham smiled. "Oh, I will," he replied. "I was actually referring to what we have to do next."

"Oh. That," Jack smirked, still hoping the man was making a double entendre.

Page once again took the stage and began singing his recent release of "Indecision". Will sighed.

_I wanna settle down like my father_

_I wanna run away like my mother ought to_

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, spinning him out and back into his arms.

"This song," he replied. "Sums up my life perfectly at the moment, don't you think?"

_Be prepared for indecision_

_It might make me disappear_

_But then again, my addiction_

_To indecision keeps me Here!_

Jack laughed at what he was getting at. "So you haven't made up your mind?"

_One day you and I will be intertwined_

_If I could only make up my mind_

"It's already been made for me," he admitted, then kissed the Time Agent.

_Leave decisions up to fate_

_Nothing comes to those who wait_

Page followed "Indecision" with "Call & Answer", dueting with his mentor, Lennon, who then sang "Imagine." Jack had to comfort Will, who began crying into Jack's shoulder and looking to Tosh. He wouldn't say why.

The Doctor sat on the sidelines and watched the couples he knew and had come to know the last few days as they moved with the music. The newly crowned King William had joined the celebration for his father accompanied by his mystery betrothed, "Aphrodite", dancing with her under the stern gaze of the Magister. Even Charles' personal pilot was dancing with his young, nubile blonde bride, Joy, that many believed was out of his league, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

He realized that they were letting themselves go, having dealt with yet another life -and world-threatening- deviant. Meanwhile, he sat on the sidelines of another celebration, yet again. He spotted Sarah Jane across the room, keeping an eye on Markham. He was tempted to ask her for another dance when he noticed Charles watching him with a serious expression as Miranda and Tosh left him alone for a moment with Ianto. He raised his wine glass in salute. Charles replied by motioning him over.

"I know you need to get your people out of here, back to their proper home, but I need you to help me do something first," he said.

"Help doing what?"

"I decided what punishment Geoff deserves, and I need your help to do it," he explained.

"I'll not be a party to murder," the Time Lord declared.

"It's not murder, it's eternal imprisonment," Charles corrected. "We have the cage to hold him, but there's one catch. The cage has defied even Greaves' expertise to open, which is where you come in."

The Doctor's curiosity was raised.

As the party wound down, the royals and time travellers made their departure as Willie backed Dolly and Reba singing a duet, to head back to the castle. Much to Jack's chagrin, Will insisted on retiring with his wife, but Alonso provided a willing distraction for the night, unable to locate Laszlo. (Jack also tried to invite Rhys' double along before they left the party, but an annoyed Gwen made him promise not to for her sake.)

After changing back to his own clothes, the Doctor heard a knock at his suite door. "You ready?" Charles asked, having changed from his silk robes into more casual clothing, himself.

"At this hour? Why not wait until we've all had some rest?"

"I want this done and I want this done without too many prying eyes," he explained. "Where we're going is a fairly public place. Besides, we can nap on the way."

The Doctor eyed him warily for a moment. "As you wish."

The duo met another man waiting by a nondescript van, outside. "Are you ready, Sir?" the man in the horn-rimmed glasses asked.

"Let's get this over with," Charles said and climbed in.

"Wait for me!" came a breathless call.

Charles and the Doctor turned to see the man's son come running up. "I'm coming with you," he exclaimed.

"No, Will," Charles told him. "This is my mess, and I'm taking care of it."

"I am your King, now," the redhead reminded his father. "You are defying your King?"

"I'm telling my belligerent son to go to bed, your Highness!" he countered. "You've got enough to deal with now, without worrying about this bastard."

"Are you referring to yourself or Greaves?" Will asked.

"Smartass," Charles growled, then sighed. "Fine, get in."

The Doctor held the van's side door open and motioned to the young man to enter. As he followed, both noted the body bag tossed casually into the back and the locked metal box beside it.

"Is that-?"

"Yep," Charles answered him, motioning to the driver to proceed before they had any more problems.

The three men dozed lightly, trying to rest up before the task ahead. The Doctor was not surprised to see their destination: Glastonbury.

The circle was still cordoned off after the earlier events. Charles pointed toward one set of pillars as they arrived.

"Why am I not surprised?" the Doctor said, rousing himself from his rest.

"You know where we're taking him?" Charles asked, glancing to Will.

"Greaves said your world was never plagued by my adversaries, but I had a hunch this would still be here," he said as he climbed out. "How do you get down there?"

"Don't you know?" William inquired.

"On the Earth I'm used to, most of these stones were removed, taken away by ignorant villagers for other purposes, the circle's origins a mystery to them," he explained. "Greaves had plenty of time to ensure that didn't happen here, and that things were changed from what I knew."

Charles and William went to the altar stone they had been lashed to before. With a nod from the larger man, the pair shifted the stone slightly and it gave way with surprising ease to reveal a stairwell into the earth below. Charles turned back to the Time Lord, "Go grab his head, we'll get the body."

The Doctor went to the back door of the van and the driver handed him the metal case, then turned to grab a pair of darkened goggles and a hand-held welding torch. He gave the driver a concerned look of disgust, but the man remained cool towards him as his superiors approached to retrieve the body.

Father and son carried the large bag containing the decapitated body of the immortal dictator of this world down into the cavern, the Doctor following with the man's head in some macabre procession. He was not surprised to find what lay in the chamber beneath the ancient monument.

A large, intricately carved cube stood before them. The Doctor looked upon it in disgust. "The Pandorica."

"You know what this is?" William asked.

"Like I said, my adversaries back home plagued this world," he began. "Once, they made an alliance in the hopes of ridding the universe of me, but they failed."

Charles stepped to the cube. "You didn't figure out how to open it?"

"Quite the contrary," he said and placed his hand on the cool surface. The cube hummed to life. "Genetic lock."

Father and son watched in awe as the ancient machine reawakened, beginning the process of unlocking itself, a glow from within lighting up the faces of the trio.

"So you're the only one who can open it?" Charles asked.

"If Greaves wasn't lying to you about not being able to open it, then yes." He began looking about the chamber for something. "It's a good thing you haven't sealed the head in it's case," he said, bending down and picking up a rusted sword from some unknown previous visitor.

"What's that for?" William asked as his father bent down to open the body bag.

"One last precaution," Charles said, pulling the man's arms from the bag, placing them above the torso. He held his hand out for the sword.

The Doctor handed it to him with a grim expression on his face. Charles gave him a solemn nod, then hacked the hands off the arms of the corpse.

"Jack told me once, he was blown up from a bomb placed inside him," he explained. "All that remained was most of his head and almost all of an arm. He was whole within a day, then buried in concrete."

"Damn, who'd he piss off to get that kind of treatment?" Charles inquired.

The Doctor shrugged. "British government. Tried to cover their asses after a presumed first contact some 45 years earlier came back to haunt them. Jack was one of the few who knew anything about the original contact, so they tried to silence him before he could interfere or help."

"So what happened after that?" the former regent asked as he sliced the hands in half again as an extra precaution.

"Sacrificed his own grandson to save the day," he informed them somberly. "Right after he lost his Ianto due to his arrogance."

The other two were quiet for a long moment. "Our condolences, my friend," Charles offered. William nodded.

"I never met the chap in person, before coming here, that is, but Jack has been pretty much devastated ever since. He lost pretty much everything in a short period, except Gwen," he explained. "He even left Earth for a while. Took me forever to find him again when I didn't have much time to waste."

"So that's why he's all over my Jonesy?" Charles asked as he opened the metal case. "Still blames himself?"

The Time Lord nodded. "If anything, I hope this accidental intrusion to your world is just what he needed to get his head on straight once more." Then he realized what he had said. "No pun intended," he chuckled.

"Did you hear all of that, Geoff?" Charles asked, pulling the ancient head from the case.

The mouth was a flurry of movement, but without using the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, there was nothing they could understand but the malicious intent.

"Goodbye, Geoff," Charles said somberly and set the head down before he cleaved it in two. William turned away in disgust as his father grabbed the two halves, set them ear to ear and replaced them in the box, tossing in the chopped hands as well.

"Hand me the torch, William," he ordered as he closed the case once more. The new king did as he was asked, watching as his father sealed the seam forever.

The Doctor looked up as the Pandorica finally finished opening. "Just as I remember it," he said, causing the other two to see what he was talking about.

Inside the cube was a chair with various clamps and straps attached to it. A shiver went down the Time Lord's spine, recalling his near miss and the near extinction of the universe because of the contraption before him.

He glanced to the regent. "How did you know this was a prison?"

"I didn't."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed.

"Geoff let it be known long ago that there was something he called 'the ultimate trap' down here, centuries ago," he explained. "Only the royal families knew he was truly immortal and he had originated from this region. Not that he kept it much of a secret from the common folk, quite a few myths followed him over the centuries. He spread a ton of stories and myths all over the world, including about you."

"About me?"

"I never believed them until we met, I have to admit," William admitted. "Scary bedtime stories of the evil 'Doctor' in his blue box, stealing innocent souls away forever, supposedly."

"I'm a _villain_ here? _ME_?" he bellowed, indignant.

Charles shrugged. "The Myth of the Doctor. That very word is forbidden, except as a curse most vile," he explained.

The Gallifreyan came to a realization. "Medic, surgeon, healers, never a 'doctor', not even for dear, sweet Martha. In Britain, my title refers to those professions, as well as a certain level of education, like professor. It's a title worthy of respect." He glanced to the case again. "He really hated me that much that he would make me the ultimate villain?"

"To be honest, it was just an old folktale until-well, I guess you know you can't go home, just yet?" Charles explained. "What you were saying earlier?"

"As soon as we get back to the castle, I need as much information on 'me' as you can," the Doctor informed them. "My friends and I don't belong here, and the longer we stay, the harder it will be to get them back where we belong."

Charles and William nodded. "No problem, I can have Jonesy begin collating that before we even leave here," Charles agreed. "First, we need to lock Geoff up," he motioned to the Pandorica.

The three men tied the mangled body into the seat's clamps, then placed the metal case in it's lap.

"That's it then, let's lock this psycho fucker up, forever," Charles said.

"Wait," William interrupted, staring at the grisly remains. "You have to admit, without him-I-we would never-" he glanced up to his father.

Charles smiled and put his arm around his son. "I know. I would never have been drug into this, never met your mother, never had you boys." He pulled his son to him in a bear hug. "He gave me all that, basically handed the country to a stranger who would be his downfall. I'll give him that, but that still doesn't balance out all the other evil he's done to our world, William. Remember that: without evil, there can be no good to rise to the occasion."

He kissed his son on the head before breaking their embrace and helping the Doctor close the Pandorica doors, sealing the ancient menace known by a near infinite list of names inside. Once called Captain Jack Harkness, last known as Lord Geoffrey Greaves, and never to be known as the Face of Boe in this dimension. The door glowed bright as the two men held it closed before it shocked the pair into releasing their grips. After a minute, the whirring of machinery grew silent as the cube grew dark once more.

"What was that about?" Charles asked, rubbing his hand.

The Doctor did a quick scan with his screwdriver. "Hmm. It seems that the lock has reset itself? Only our combined genetic material can unlock the Pandorica again?"

"So once you go back to your world, this thing is sealed for eternity?"

"Well, at least the next five billion years, until your sun consumes this world," the Doctor mused.

"What's a few billion years between friends?" Charles chuckled, then gave a weary sigh. "Let's get the fuck out of here, guys," he decided, ushering his son out with an arm across his shoulders.

The Doctor paused to look back at the cube once more, then frown at one of the walls before following them out. No sense in telling them he had already been/will be back here once more, according to the Galactic Date scrawled amongst the other ancient graffiti.

The journey back was quiet until Will finally spoke up, "I know you have questions about her, but so do I."

The Doctor had been dozing lightly, trying to rest.

"What are you talking about?" Charles asked, half-asleep.

"My betrothed, Aphrodite," he explained.

"Is that her real name?" his wearied father asked.

"No," he chuckled, glancing to the Doctor. "It's Gwyneth. Gwyneth Cooper."

The Time Lord sat up, flabbergasted. "You don't say!" he laughed.

Charles looked at his son in confusion, then to the Doctor. "She's Gwen? I thought you said she looked like your friend, 'Rose'? Are they related?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. I don't recall them ever meeting face to face, actually," he informed them, then mused for a moment. "Well, Rose and Gwen Cooper, as opposed to a possible ancestor of hers?"

"Do we want to know?" Charles inquired.

"A look-alike we met when Rose and I encountered Charles Dickens shortly after we first met," he told them before asking, "Are you sure there's been no unnatural activity in Wales? There is a rift in time-space located in Cardiff back home. Jack and Gwen used to guard it until-well, that incident I mentioned earlier."

"When do you ever get any downtime?" William asked. "It sounds like you lot go from one adventure to the next, non-stop!" Charles laughed at this.

"Hmm, yes. It does seem sometimes that my life is a non-stop, madcap, misadventure of intergalactic time travel, doesn't it? Quite confusing when you forget when you are, sometimes," he chuckled.

Charles shook his head. "Doctor, who are you? Certainly not the Big Bad Wolf we've been lead to expect in our lives, but the secrets you keep? I shudder to think the extent of what you could do if you didn't seem to have the sided with the good guys."

"The Time Lord Triumphant? The Oncoming Storm? Spoilers!" he winked. "And don't mention Bad Wolf to me, please. I hope to have seen the last of that, myself. By the way, if and when you lot start traveling the stars, you could use my better reputation to your advantage. I hope."

"Anything else?" Charles asked, chuckling along with his son.

"Don't tell my Gwen about your Gwen," he advised. "Also, keep your Rhys away from her, as well. Jack told me his man still has to fend off her suitors all the time. I don't think it would do to have your man fall for your future queen. In fact, we might need to double-check both before we leave, just to be sure."

"So she will be my queen, one day?" William asked, interest piqued.

The Doctor smiled. "I didn't say that," he countered. "In fact, your British counterpart is involved with someone totally different, on which I can't say anything else, sorry. Nor can I comment on his younger brother, Harry."

"More spoilers?" Charles asked.

"Greaves has altered your timeline so drastically from mine, I can not say whether something that happened in Britain will have a parallel here in Albion, gentlemen. You two are proof of that. I'm sorry."

"But you still have several tasks to accomplish before you can return?" Charles reminded him. "Would it help or hurt if I sent along some help with you?"

The Doctor's face grew dark. "Charles, I can't say whether your man will be able to return to this point in time or not. I can't take that risk of polluting this timeline with more time traveling or travellers than is necessary. I'm sorry."

Charles' face grew grim. "Then there is something I do need to show you when we get back to the castle. Beyond what you already have asked for." He glanced to his son, who looked at him in confusion, then back to the Doctor. "I was merely being polite about offering you help. You have to take someone back with you or you destroy what you have just saved."

This news did not sit well with the Doctor. Greaves' paradox trap had now begun to show itself.

TBC...

* * *

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A/N: "Coronary" Song Credits (various original writers):

Meat Loaf: Song of Madness, Monster is Loose, It Just Won't Quit, Execution Day

Barenaked Ladies: I Live With It Every Day, What A Good Boy

Aerosmith: Kings and Queens

Korn(?): Requiem (from "Queen of the Damned" sdtrk)

For some insane reason, italicizing the song lyrics really fubar'd the line transition from what I wrote to here. None of the breaks were where I placed them, with 2-3 lines running together and the rest double spacing. If anyone knows how to correct this, please let me know?

additional lyrics from Steven Page: Indecision.

The "Crazy" medley is just another insane idea of mine. If I ever get a chance someday, I'll learn how to mix that up and put it on YouTube. Maybe.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Next: Departure


	10. Departure

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 10 - Departure

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Tosh/Martha/Ianto/Alonso/Sarah Jane, OCs

* * *

"I love you."

Toshiko looked up into her husband's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he lied, knowing full well she could tell.

"Will." The exasperated tone in her voice was her way of telling him, "cut the bullshit, tell me the truth."

"Nothing!" he repeated, pulling her legs from around him and rolled off of her, grunting as he fell away from the warmth of her. He rolled away, his back to her.

She followed him, wrapping her right arm over his, tickling his chest fur and nipples with her nails as she pressed her body into his backside. "You're jealous of me and Ianto, aren't you?" she teased. "You're bigger," she whispered in his ear.

"He's good to you, right?"

She sighed. "_You're_ good to me, Will."

"We haven't been good for a while, Tosh. You know that."

"You've been pulling away for months, Will. Tell me what's wrong," she begged.

"Nothing," he repeated.

"I love you, Will. I really do," she said, then reached down lower, trying to coax him back to her. "I just want to know what's wrong. Is it Jackson? Are you mad at yourself for falling for him, too? Or is it this new guy, Jack?"

"No, it's not that," he said, pushing her hand away.

"No one's perfect," she told him. "We all make mistakes."

"I'm a mistake? Is that what you're implying?" He sat up, swinging his legs to the floor, pulling away from her.

"Will, don't," she pleaded. "I love you, the boys love you, Charles, Will, and-you've been impossible to love lately, and-"

"And what?" he asked, rising from their bed.

"And you keep pushing us away, that's what."

He turned and leaned back towards her. "I-I'm sorry."

"At least tell me what's going on?" she asked him again, rubbing her hand up the arm he was supporting himself on. She tried to kiss him on the mouth, but he turned away, letting her kiss his whiskered cheek.

"Stop. Just-stop it."

She pulled her hand away and drew herself up, wrapping her arms around her knees, fighting the urge to cry. She was stronger than that, she told herself.

He stood up and turned away. "I have to go."

"Where? When will you be back?"

"I-I don't know," he said and headed to the bathroom to shower. She grabbed the nearest thing in reach and threw it at him. She didn't realize it was his favorite sex toy until it hit him on the ass as he turned to close the door. He merely picked it up and shut the door behind him.

She finally let herself give in as she heard the water run.

* * *

"I love you."

"mmfh?"

Gwen sighed. She leaned down and kissed Rhys on the cheek, then whispered in his ear.

His eyes popped open, focused on her, then he reached over and pulled her to him, kissing her. "Careful, you're a married woman!" he chuckled.

"Just don't tell my husband!" she laughed as he attacked her again.

"Och! You're going to wear me out and drive me to an early grave with all this lovemaking, aren't yeh?" he accused her, kissing his way down her body.

"Quit giving me ideas, you big goof!" she laughed as he hit her secret tickle spot.

He stopped and sat up. "Did you just call me a big poof?"

* * *

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Jack rolled over and looked at his lover. "Don't."

"I really think I am," Alonso said again.

"We're leaving here soon," Jack protested. "I'm never coming back."

"I can come with you," he begged.

"They always say that, but never do," Jack quipped. "Look, Al, we-"

"Alonso."

"Alonso. Sorry. We're leaving this world. You can't come with us, there's no guarantee we'll ever come back in my lifetime, and believe me, that's saying a lot."

"I don't have anyone else to keep me here."

"What about your job?"

"Please, I was spying on someone who's dead, now. My job is over."

"You have no one that's going to miss you, here? Friends, lovers, family?"

Alonso shrugged. "Ex-flat mate who's a loner. No one else outside of the royals the last few years. Really only shagged around a bit with Lord Greaves, and can I say, you two are hung almost iden-"

"Don't. Just...don't," Jack held his hand up, suddenly feeling creeped out by the comparison to his counterpart as a lover. Any other time, he would have had some fun with himself, but now? Even Jack had to admit he had limits on certain things.

"Too much?"

"Way too much, which is another reason I have to turn you down," he admitted as his vortex manipulator's comm chimed. _Saved by the bell! _he thought as he reached for his wristband. "This is Jack. Who is this?"

"Jack, it's Will Markham," a voice on the other end replied. "Can you please meet me in the Torchwood Command office?"

"Be there in ten," Jack said and switched his comm off. He turned to Alonso and shrugged, "Sorry, duty calls. A quick shower and I'll see you later?"

"yeah," Alonso sighed.

"You can join me in the shower if you'd like," Jack smiled.

It took Jack longer than ten minutes to reach the office.

* * *

"I am exhausted," Charles grunted.

"You were out awfully late," Miranda sleepily greeted her husband as he entered their royal suite. "Did you get any rest at all?"

"Quick nap. We just had to take care of some business with Will," he told her, flopping down on the bed beside her, still fully dressed. "I just wanted to pop in and check on you," he told her, then reached over and grabbed her hand, kissed it, and held it to his now-stubbled face.

"What's got you in a mood?"

"Nothin'," he mumbled over her fingers. He then turned his head to look her in the eye. "Do you think he's ready? Have we done enough?"

She ran her free hand through his hair. "We've done what we can. We don't get a say in how he does things from now on."

"Yeah, you're right," he sighed and kissed her hand again. "I've still got something to take care of, but I'll be back right after."

She gave a disappointed sigh. "Promise?"

"After this, I've-no, _we've_ got a lot of catching up to do, starting with George," he told her. "I'm sorry. For everything," he said, kissing her hand again. "You may not be able to forgive me now, but I hope you can one day."

She pulled her hand back, then leaned forward and kissed him on the temple. "We'll discuss it later."

He begrudgingly rose and strode to the door before stopping and looking back at her once more. "I love you."

She smiled and flicked her hand. "Off with you, I'm going back to sleep."

He chuckled and left the suite. Closing the door, he leaned against it for a moment. "I hope you can forgive me for all of this," he whispered before heading out.

* * *

Jack was all smiles as he entered the Torchwood Command office. It fell away as he looked upon the five men waiting for him, frowning. Around the table sat Charles, young King William, Will Markham, a man he didn't recognize wearing glasses, and the Doctor.

"Ten minutes?" Will asked. "That was half an hour ago."

"Right. Sorry. I got distracted," he apologized. Markham and the Doctor gave him stern looks. "What's this meeting about? And is there anything to eat? I am starving."

"There was. Cold croissants and coffee, courtesy of Ianto," Charles informed him gruffly, jerking his thumb toward the corner counter.

"Ianto's coffee?" he asked somberly, then went to the pot and sniffed it adoringly. A warm smile spread across his face.

"Whenever you're done, Jack?" the Doctor inquired.

"Sorry, right," he replied and poured himself a cup, savoring the taste he had expected never to have again, and might not after this day. He took a seat at the table, "You were saying?"

The Doctor pushed a PADD toward him. "You remember this note?"

Jack glanced at the screen, recalling the same message Charles had shown them a few nights earlier at Glastonbury.

He glanced from the Time Lord to Markham and finally Charles. "What about it?"

"It's time we sent it," Will informed him.

Jack gave him a cautious look before glancing to the Doctor. "I already told them what your and my parts say, Jack."

"Uh, Doc?"

The Time Lord motioned across to Charles and his son. "They already know about your manipulator. Greaves' manor has been sealed and they're searching to see if his still exists after all this time."

"We're going to destroy it, Jack," Charles informed him.

Jack tossed a hesitant look back to Markham. "Fine. When?"

"I already wrote up the rest, we just need to go back and send it to Charles," Will told him, holding up a small device that the visitors could only assume was a data drive.

"Right now, we just need your vortex manipulator to take us back to the time this was sent, then we can be on our way," the Doctor told him.

"Us? We?"

"Just you, me, and Markham," he replied.

"Is that a good idea? I mean-"

"You're going to need someone with you to override the security measures," Will informed him. "It would be best if we went back to my private quarters, since a- that was where the message originated from and b- so we don't have to worry about the distance when we teleport. We'll also trip less alarms that way."

"I don't suppose I can get some of this to go?" Jack asked, lifting his coffee cup as the Doctor and Markham rose to leave.

Following the pair down the hall to Will's quarters adjoining William's, Jack inquired, "So, who's your new friend with the glasses? Anyone I should know about?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Because if-"

Will stopped and turned on Jack. "Fine. He's Jackson's replacement. Happy?"

"Ok, just curious," Jack replied, taken aback. "I just thought that you would take over Torchwood. Weren't you second in command?"

Will turned and walked away. The Doctor shook his head and followed.

"What? What did I miss now?"

Moments later, they entered Will's private room adjoining the former crown prince's quarters. It wasn't much more than an average sized bedroom with a computer terminal in one corner and entertainment stand in the other.

Jack glanced over the small collection of music and movies. He recognized some titles and bands, but not most. He briefly wondered if it was merely a simple change of title or works that were unique to this world. "Nice. You get all the channels in here?" he asked with a wink.

Will motioned Jack to join him and the Doctor at the foot of the bed and held up the PADD. "Here's the message again. See the time stamp? How close can you get to that?"

Jack flipped open his wrist strap and adjusted a few controls. "What say we land a few minutes early, just in case we have to explain ourselves?"

Will started to say something, but held his counsel, merely nodding his assent. He didn't seem too eager to leave.

"Okay boys, grab hold of me and hang on tight," he winked. The Doctor and Will shared an exasperated look as they each grabbed an arm. Jack pushed a button and the trio shifted in time to a darkened room.

"Are we in the right time?" Will asked, quietly.

"According to my read-outs, we are," Jack replied. Will shushed him as they heard a snort from the bed.

"Tsh? Zatyu?" It was Will's own voice.

"Here we go," Markham whispered, glancing to the Doctor, whose irritated gaze bore down on him intently.

"You should have warned us you were already here!" he hissed.

Markham put his finger to his lips for his companions to be quiet and went to his bed, sitting on the edge. He didn't see the Doctor prevent Jack from trying to stop him.

"Shh, it's alright, you're just dreaming," Markham soothed his slightly younger self.

Will flung his arm out and tapped his bedside lamp on. He gasped in surprise at seeing himself accompanied by two strangers in his private quarters. "What the-?"

"Will, shut the fuck up," Markham warned himself. "Trust me, you'll know what we're doing when the time is right." He seemed to choke back tears at this.

"What is this? What's going on?" Will demanded of his twin.

"I'm sorry, it has to be this way_,"_ the man sobbed lightly, reaching out and rubbing his right arm and shoulder, his own in a sling. "We have no choice, it must be done. When the time comes-" The man reached up behind his head and pulled their foreheads together, he could feel the hot tears before the man kissed him. The other two men began to protest. Will looked into his own eyes, his own face, then turned to the larger man at the foot of the bed, his piercing cobalt blue eyes bore into his soul. They seemed ancient beyond belief. "When the time comes, you must protect the prince at all costs," his older self continued, whispering in his ear. "Charles-the Regent-he'll understand why you had to do it. The world depends on you, on your sacrificing-" The words caught in his throat.

"Stop," Jack cautioned him. "He shouldn't know too much."

"It's too late, I already knew," Markham replied. "I just didn't remember it all."

"Who are you?" Will asked his older self again.

In reply his injured twin merely seemed to draw back a moment before head butting him. The rush of information he had just experienced coupled with the blow would be the last thing he would remember until morning, thinking the encounter all a dream.

Markham rose from the bed, giving the Doctor a mournful look as he proceeded to his computer and uploaded their message.

"Let's get out of here," he said once the task was complete.

Jack simply waited for each man to take an arm and hit the recall button returning them to the moment they had left.

"That's that, then, innit?" Markham said as he stepped away from the pair.

"Why did you tell him that?" the Doctor inquired.

Markham gave the man an annoyed look. "Because that's how I remembered it happening."

"You seem to be upset about something," Jack noted. "Anything you want to tell us?"

He held the Time Lord's gaze. "You tell him."

The Time Lord turned to his companion. "That trap Greaves mentioned? We cannot leave here just yet, and we'll need a local guide we can trust to see us along on our journeys."

Jack cocked his head sideways at his old friend in confusion, then looked to his new friend as a smile spread across his face. Markham's lip forced a momentary smile.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the pair. "It's time we were going."

An hour later, the visitors had convened outside the TARDIS with Markham, Charles, and Ianto, conveyed by Rhys' double.

"You're sure that Rhys is our Rhys?" Jack whispered to Gwen conspiratorially.

"What? Of course he is!" she protested as her husband chatted with his double one last time.

"Y'think?" he teased. "Watch this. Hey, Rhys!"

Both men turned.

"Who wants a shag?"

One man gave a slight face of disdain, while the other seemed intrigued at the proposition.

"Just in case," Gwen whispered to Jack before turning to her husband and his twin. "What were we on when I told you about our child?"

Disdainful Rhys smirked, "Potatoes."

The other offered, "Ecstasy?" then did a doubletake. "_Potatoes?" _he echoed.

Gwen pulled her husband to her. "Potatoes," he grinned and kissed her. "And I can't wait to get back to our little spud, uh, what was his name again?" he teased.

Gwen glared at him and shoved him towards the TARDIS door. "Oi! _Her_ name is _Anwen_!" she growled, slapping him. He retreated inside, laughing.

The other Rhys sidled up to Jack. "So, you were saying something about a shag?"

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, about that? Excuse me," he said pushing his way past, more fearing Gwen's reaction than anything else. He had one thing to do before they left. "Hey Ianto? Can I talk to you a moment?"

Ianto gulped as Charles nudged him away from his discussion with Markham and the Doctor. "Yes, what now?" he begrudged.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my, um, attentions," Jack told him. "It's just that, um, well-"

"You miss him," he finished. "I guess, um, I can't really blame you." He gave Jack a slight smile. "If what I understand is true about you, then he was just small blip in time for you, Captain Harkness."

"You will never be a blip in time, Ianto Jones," Jack said. "Not for me. Never for me." He pulled the man into a hug. "Goodbye, Ianto, and thank you."

Ianto Jones was left at a loss for words and glad when Charles distracted the pair with an order.

As Jack pulled Ianto aside, Will Markham asked the Doctor for a private moment alone with Charles. "Of course," he complied, offering a hand to the Regent. "Best of luck to you and your son, Charles," he offered before stepping back to the TARDIS to wait for his final companions to board. As he did, he noticed a movement in the nearby underbrush.

Will turned to his friend and liege. "Charles, you know I-"

Charles smiled and nodded. "Anything you want me to tell her?"

Will looked away. "You know, the usual. It wasn't her, it was me. Let her know I still love her and the boys," he said. Charles nodded. Will locked eyes with the larger man. "Tell her I'm sorry. I have to do this, and-and I love you, Charles," he said, hugging his friend. "I love you all so much and that's the reason I have to go. Tell her that for me, will you?" He buried his face in his friend's shoulder.

Charles hugged his friend tight. "I will, and thanks for learnin' my boy and such," he chuckled, falling back to his native drawl.

"Bloody Colonial," Will teased back before catching sight of something-no, some_one_ running towards them. "Shit. Didn't you say the wives were having brunch together?"

"Yeah, why?" Charles asked, his back to the approaching figure as he heard her faint screams getting louder. He turned to see her screaming her husband's name as she approached.

"Our distraction didn't work. Run interference for another minute?" he asked.

Charles nodded and called over to Ianto. "Jonesy! Go see what Tosh wants. Keep her busy for a few, okay?"

Ianto was glad of the excuse to leave Jack and ran to his lover.

"Tell him to be good to her and the boys, alright?" Will asked, eyeing his wife's lover. Charles smirked and nodded. "And Charles?"

He turned back to his friend. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said," Will pulled him in and kissed him. It took Charles by surprise and he tried to fight it, even as his friend's action made him laugh, but finally gave in as a gesture of the affection he felt for one of the few people he could really call friend since being appointed Regent. When he finally broke free, Will placed his hand on Charles' heart, "Farewell, my cousin, my friend. My brother. Safe journeys to you and yours."

"Fucking slag," he teased before turning serious. "Safe journeys to you, too, my friend," he replied, mimicking Will's gesture, then looked over to the Doctor and Jack as they both took a step toward the TARDIS. "You bring him back to us safe and sound, y'hear me?" he ordered as he pulled Will close to his side one last time with his arm around the man's neck. Will responded by resting his head on his friend's shoulder for a moment (not that he had much choice with the thick arm nearly strangling him) and squeezing his arm around Charles' back, pulling their hips together for a moment before they parted.

The Doctor nodded. "I'll try my best to bring him back."

Charles could only nod in acceptance with a forced smile and hope for the best as Jack and the Doctor entered the blue box. Charles picked up his friend's heavy duffel and handed it him. "I packed what y'all asked," he said. "Might've thrown in a surprise or two for ya, too," he winked.

"Thank you, Charles, for everything," Will smiled and approached the TARDIS doors. He stopped long enough to look back at his pleading wife and friends before forcing himself to enter the craft and close the door on his family and world.

Once inside, Will fought back the tears as he leaned against the door, eyes closed. He heard the Doctor and Jack speaking in hushed tones a slight distance away as a grinding noise filled his being. It was disorienting and comforting at the same time.

He opened his eyes to see a large room surrounding a control island with a moving central column. A walkway led from the doorway to the controls, with a level below (was that a swing?) and two levels above, with doorways leading off at various points. The raised floors seemed to be made of clear glass. The two Men of Time worked at different panels of the island while the other couple looked on from a lounge divan nearby with concerned looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, approaching the control island.

Jack gave the Doctor an annoyed look. "You tell him about our stowaway."

"Stowaway?"

The Doctor sighed. "You're not the only one joining us on this mission," he admitted. He then turned towards one of the doorways. "You might as well come on out, now."

Will did a quick mental count of who had been with them and who was where when he entered the ship. He hadn't seen the Rhys of his world, but hadn't he gone back to the carriage? Shit, had William abandoned his throne and family to tag along with his teacher and protector? His moment of panic passed as the young man stepped out of his hiding spot in the hall and sheepishly approached the others.

"_Alonso_?" Will exclaimed. "No! Absolutely not! Go back and drop him off!" he demanded.

"It's not that easy," the Doctor said, tossing an annoyed look at the younger man. "Besides, he's given me a good reason why he has to tag along on our first stop."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Will asked, glaring at the former double agent.

"The Regent didn't tell you?" Alonso defended himself.

"Charles tells me everything!" Will declared, then reconsidered. "Well, almost everything. What the hell are you doing here? Why did you sneak in here?"

Alonso cast a nervous glance to Jack, who made his annoyance clear. "I-I have a job to do," he stammered and handed Will a PADD. "R-Regent's orders."

Will grabbed the PADD and glanced over it. "Bullshit!" he exclaimed and tossed the panel away. "Fucking bullshit, is what this is!"

"It is what it is," Alonso said, defiant.

"I've got an idea," Jack cut in. "Why don't I show you guys to your rooms? Let you get settled in?" He quickly ushered Alonso back out into the hallway where he had come from. Gwen and Rhys followed, eager to escape the heated atmosphere.

Will turned to the Doctor. "You know it's risky enough bringing me along to help you out, but this kid?"

The Time Lord shrugged. "You saw what was on that PADD. He has-"

"He's trouble. Mark my words," Will cautioned. "And that damn grinding is giving me a headache," he groused and slapped a control. The TARDIS went quiet.

The Doctor stared at his new companion. "How did you-?"

"-know you left the parking brake on?" Will finished. "I have no idea! I've had all these thoughts running through my head since before I ran into you, and they're starting to make sense, now." He stopped and gave the ginger man a curious look. "More sense since that night we just went back to," he pondered. "That's when they started. That's one of those wobbly-wobbly, time things, innit?"

"You're saying you're telepathic?"

"Call it a seventh sense or what have you, but I'm a bit sensitive, yeah," Will replied. "They told you stuff like that pops up in Greaves' descendants, right?"

"You're one of Greaves' descendants?" the Doctor asked, throwing a cautious glance to the hall where Jack had disappeared down.

Will chuckled, sensing the man's unease. "Don't worry, he's several generations back, from what we've been able to determine."

"How do you know? I mean-?"

"They checked out everyone, every branch, every possible descendant, when the Royal Incident happened," he explained. "Turns out me mum could've been crowned if not for Wilf and a couple others," he continued. "Dad, too, but he wasn't as close as she was. Fifth or sixth in line, I think they figured she was? Right behind Miranda, it turns out. He was further down the line."

"So you and Charles?"

"What? No, he was raised Puritan. They don't fool around with anyone they want to, preferring monogamy over polyamory like most of the rest of the world. Don't get me wrong, we still marry, but it's more a promise to raise kids together, as well as be honest about who you fool around with." He considered what he said, then added, "Well, for couples. For triples, it's more open. You're lucky if you can find the right mix there. Like with me and Tosh, I played around a bit, but she didn't much until Ianto, and he didn't play, either. That made him a good match for working under Charles, at least. Still-" He threw his hands up in a 'what are you gonna do?' motion.

The Doctor chuckled. "No, I meant how you two are related."

"Oh! Distant cousins," he replied. "From what Charles told me about Jackson, he probably had more of Greaves' blood running through him than anyone else alive." He stopped and considered this a moment. "Quite literally, it turns out, if that's what has been keeping him young all these years? I'm almost surprised he wasn't crowned."

"But then he would have lost his best secret agent in the Royal family, would he not?"

"Probably," Will shrugged. "I guess we'll never know, now, will we?"

The Doctor's face grew dark. "Will, whatever you're thinking of doing, you can't. We can't alter your history or we all become lost in time. That's what Greaves' trap really is. He knows I'll try to save Jackson from his clutches, but it will only derail your world from ever existing."

"I know," Will said in quiet anger. "And bringing Alonso along for this will only endanger our mission even more."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I was Prince William's teacher," he reminded the Time Lord. "I know my history and especially the events we're about to become a part of, Doctor. This is the moment you reveal yourself as real to a world that thinks you're nothing but a scary story parents tell their kids to keep them in line."

"I'm the 'boogeyman', is that it?"

"'The Doctor' is the Oncoming Storm that will steal the future from anyone who dares oppose him," Will informed the other man. "He comes at the darkest hour in his blue box, bringing death and destroying any who try to stop him. His name is the vilest slander anyone can call you."

The ginger man seemed almost amused by this.

"What the hell did you do to him to piss him off like that?" Will motioned towards the hall again.

The Time Lord shrugged. "I let him sacrifice himself to help me stop an enemy in the future, and unwittingly doomed him to eternal life when I tried to protect another friend by sending her away. At the time, I didn't realize how far she would go to save us."

"What did she do?"

"She simply said, 'I bring life' and resurrected him. It wasn't until later I found out what exactly happened to him," he explained. "By that time, he had made his way back to the time period we're headed and when I next encountered him, he was already over 150 years old."

"And now?"

"We've made our peace. She's moved on," he said wistfully. "Then his own past caught up to him and he was trapped in the distant past, but apparently, not near as far back as Greaves was. That was the difference," he continued.

"Well, that and I was buried for most of that time," Jack interrupted. "Greaves said he was unburied by a random flash flood and decided to change the world for the better, or so he thought."

Will and the Doctor shared a chagrined look.

"Oh, don't worry about it, guys," Jack eased their minds. "Look, what are the main differences between our world and yours? People are more open sexually, your technology's more advanced, you didn't have the Catholic Church stirring up trouble with the Crusades, among other things, and for some reason, your world has like half the population of Gwen's time. Seems to me, with your more liberal attitudes, it would be doubled."

Markham shrugged. "I don't know what your Catholic Church is, but maybe we stayed more agrarian? After the world wars, there was a determined push to spread the population out, so if a city was attacked, not as many people would perish. Come to think of it, it was Greaves' family who pushed for that, giving out farm doles and the like so more families grew their own crops, especially in the Colonies."

This piqued the Doctor's interest. "Is that what Charles did?"

"Charles? No, he was a city boy and had his nightclub, and started a few recording studios. When he was tapped for Regent, he played it off as opening a venue in Albion. Met Miranda, and the rest is history."

"So what about Jackson? What do you know about his life when we meet him?" Jack asked.

"Are you sure it's wise to have the whole lot of us tromping around in my past like this?" Will cautioned again. "More chances that someone will change something and all."

"You do have a point," the Doctor admitted. "Not everyone can go out on our stops, we need to figure out who, and when."

Will handed the Time Lord his PADD. "Like I said, I was Will's teacher and I'm familiar with the period and events."

The Doctor glanced over the information on the PADD. "Of course, you do have the saying, 'history is written by the victors', right? Who's to say this is entirely accurate?"

"That's the risk we have to take," Jack acknowledged.

Markham grabbed Jack's shoulder. "Well, just don't forget you're risking my past and with a man I once loved. Best behavior out there, Jack, or I'm going to have to ask you to stay inside here, understand?"

Jack nodded. "Understood. Your world, you get final say on how we operate here. Right, Doc?"

"If you say so, Jack," he replied as he adjusted a couple controls. "We're here, by the way."

Jack gave him a curious look. "Huh. I didn't even hear you land."

The Time Lord glanced over to their bearded friend. "No. No, you didn't." He flipped a switch and the external monitor came on. "There we are, Jackson Lake's original time. Who wants to stretch their legs?"

Jack looked at the screen in confusion. "It looks like the 1950s out there. Are you sure we're in the right time? Why do you already have automobiles?"

Will was already headed toward the door. "Did he not hear us talking about our technology being more advanced than yours? Just for that, you're staying put for now, Jack," he scolded the Time Agent.

The Doctor grabbed his coat and followed Markham outside into the chill of winter. Solstice decorations dotted the street near the alley they had arrived in. Will seemed to be enjoying it.

"I don't suppose you have the internet already, do you?" the Doctor asked.

"No, not yet, and these autos are steam-driven, anyway. But we do still have print newspaper vendors," Will quipped, heading for a nearby newsstand. "Papers should have the date, and if we're lucky, we should be able to locate Jackson straight away."

"Or, we could make sure time repeats itself," he shrugged and motioned to a young lad walking by. "Excuse me, do you know the date, today?"

"Oi! What are you, thick?" he snarked.

"Oi!" Will chided him. "Just answer the man's question, eh?"

"It's Winter Solstice Eve, sirs," he replied.

"Thank you, my good lad," the Doctor crowed, looking about.

"Who are you lot supposed to be, anyhow?" the boy queried.

"Nevermind that," the Doctor said, beginning to be annoyed. "One more question though, do you know how to get to-where was he again?"

"15 Latimer Street?" Markham finished. The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"Ain't no such address," the boy replied.

"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Markham asked.

"That place burned down the other night," he said casually. "Killed the family what lived there."

"no." Will Markham's stomach dropped as he turned to see the Doctor mirror his expression.

* * *

**Meanwhile, back in the future...**

Charles watched the last stragglers file into the Torchwood meeting room. He checked off the last of his list, then nodded to the man beside him.

"I'm glad you all could make it today," the man in horn-rimmed glasses said. "As of now, I am in command of Torchwood and you have all been chosen as my top operatives."

Martha spoke up. "I'm sorry? Who are you, anyway?"

"Martha Jones, is it?" he asked. She nodded. "I was the Regent's Torchwood liaison back in Texas and Louisiana Territories. My name is Commander Nigel Bennet, and as I was saying, you all now report to me."

He began down his list. "Ms. Jones is now our Chief Medical Officer. Capt. Miles Norris is our group Transport Chief. Ianto Jones and Toshiko Sato will remain our Royal Attachés, mostly personal security for the Regent and Queen Mother, so no real change for you two."

Charles interrupted, "Other than we're moving up to Edinburgh with George, letting the other kid have the castle, here. Thinks he's been crowned king or something," he finished, chuckling. "I hope you don't mind, Tosh? Will didn't seem to think you would? He thought it would be a good change for the boys."

She tossed a nervous look to Ianto, then agreed, "I suppose so?" Charles forced a smile back, as if he wanted to tell her something more, but couldn't.

Bennet nodded. "Yes, well. Meanwhile, Craig Lambert has been promoted to Personal Protector for our new King. Finally, Ms. Sarah Jane Smith will stay on as our Public Relations."

"I'm sorry? What am I even doing here?" Rhys asked.

"Mr. Williams, due to the fact of your involvement with the recent incident with Lord Greaves and the individual known as The Doctor, it was decided best to keep you on for now as staff for Ground Transport and the like, just in case. You will be reporting directly to Capt. Norris."

"It's because of him, innit?" he groused. "My twin, double, whatever you want to call him?"

"Yes, that fact was taken into consideration," Charles admitted.

"So you decide to hire me on as cabby just because of him?"

Bennet nodded. "In part, yes."

Rhys laughed. "Well, ain't that a bit of alright, then, eh?" he nudged Norris, who rolled his eyes.

"Wait, what about Will?" Toshiko asked, still looking to Charles.

Charles looked away. Bennet busied himself looking over his files.

"What about him?" Ianto asked Charles directly. "For that matter, what about our former Director, Jackson Lake?"

Bennet answered the second inquiry. "Until Mr. Lake can be fully debriefed and reconditioned until he is no longer considered a possible Enemy of State, he will remain in custody-"

"What about my husband?" Tosh demanded again.

Charles looked uncomfortable and glanced to Ianto, who shared the same concerned expression as Tosh. "Didn't I tell you two you were on vacation for the next couple weeks?" he offered, hoping to change the subject.

"Charles," she pleaded. "Where did he go? We saw him leave with that Doctor and Jack. Where is he?"

Charles reached over and took her hand. "I'm sorry, I don't know when or even _if_ your husband will return from that mission." His voice cracked as he lied. He looked to her expectantly.

"Where did you send him, Charles?" she demanded, choking back tears. Ianto grabbed her other hand for comfort.

He sighed, then turned to Bennet and held out his hand. The man gave him a file, which he then turned over to Tosh. "I'm sorry, Tosh. He was my friend, too." He gave a slight choke as he admitted this. "This was under a time lock security. We had no idea until after he-I'm so sorry, honey. I only just found out, myself. He wanted me to tell you how much he-he loved you." The words caught in his throat as he choked back tears. "You have to believe me, I never would have allowed him to leave had I known."

She opened the file and glanced at the news clipping, then read the fact sheet. "My gods, Charles! Y-you've sent my husband to his death?"

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

Next: Stitches in Time, p1: The Lady and The Lake


	11. The Lady & The Lake

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 11 - The Lady & The Lake

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake, OCs

* * *

"It's true then," Will Markham sighed, surveying the burnt out remains of the only known address they had for Jackson Lake. He turned to his companion. "So what now?"

The burly ginger man shrugged. "Where's the local University?" he offered. "Jackson was supposed to be hired on as a professor of mathematics in my world. It's why he moved here. Is the same true, here?"

"Uh, mathematics? Um, yeah, it was why he was hired, but not what he taught."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Before I forget, what did you want me to call you here?" Will asked. "Your title isn't exactly one I can say out loud without attracting the wrong kind of attention."

The Doctor smirked. "Smith, John Smith," he replied. "Do you think you ought to have an alias?"

The bearded man considered it for a moment. "No, what have I got to hide back here?" he finally replied. That's when he saw the officer approaching them.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" he asked.

"We were looking for a friend of ours," Will replied. "I don't suppose you could tell me what happened to him?"

The officer regarded the wreckage a moment. "He lived here?"

"Yeah, his name was Jackson Lake?"

"Can I ask you why you're looking for him, then?"

The two time travelers shared a suspicious look. "We heard he moved to town, thought we'd pop in and see how he's getting along," Will replied. "Why, is there something wrong besides his house burning down? He did survive, right?"

"There were no survivors in this one, I'm afraid," the officer informed them. "What did you say your names were again?"

"Leave them be, Bobby," a woman said, coming around the corner. "Be off with you, now."

The officer seemed to hesitate, then nodded "yes, mum" and tipping his cap before leaving.

She strode up to the two men as they watched the officer leave. "Did I hear you right? You are looking for Jackson Lake?"

The Doctor studied her a moment. "Hold on, don't I know you?"

"My name is Miss Hartigan," she replied. "I run the local orphanage, St. Georges."

"Oh. Oh dear," the Doctor mumbled, realizing who he was dealing with.

"I just took in a lost young boy who said his name was Lake," she informed them. "Frederick Lake, as a matter of fact. He claims his father was named Jacks, although it seems it might have been this Jackson Lake you are looking for, too, I take it?"

Will tossed the Doctor a concerned look. "You don't think-?"

"Things are never what they seem at first," he replied, then turned to Miss Hartigan. "Tell me, I don't suppose we could talk to the boy? Show him a few photos to see if Jackson was indeed his father?" He turned to Markham, "You do have photos, don't you?"

Will nodded. "Of course, I never leave home without them."

The Doctor started to turn back to the woman, then realized what Will had said and gave him a concerned look of confusion.

"That's why I came here, too," she concurred with the Doctor, "to see if this was the same man, but it looks like we were both too late?"

"Well, no time like the present?" Will suggested and motioned her to lead them to the boy.

* * *

Jack fiddled with the TARDIS controls, bored out of his mind. He had talked Rhys into keeping Alonso distracted and away from him, much to Gwen's annoyance. He would deal with her frustrations later, or better yet, talk Rhys into doing it, he smiled to himself.

He laid back on the couch, keeping one eye on the control panel in case the Doctor and Markham called, the other on the outside monitor, in case someone got too nosy.

He started to doze off before he heard the beeping. He leapt to the control panel to find out where the signal was coming from before he realized it wasn't coming from the TARDIS controls at all, but his own arm: his vortex manipulator.

"What the hell?"

* * *

Gwen, meanwhile, had found the library and decided a bit of reading by the pool might relax her. She hadn't gone very far when a mechanical voice called out, "Halt! Identify yourself!"

She stopped and looked around before noticing a red light approach from a darkened aisle. "Hello?"

"Please identify yourself and native era," it ordered.

"Um, Gwen Cooper, early 21st Century?" she replied, astonished at seeing the moving box with a metal head of a...dog?

"Identity confirmed, Mistress," it replied. "This section is restricted to post-21st Century Earth. Please move two rows to your right."

"Excuse me?"

A small nozzle projected from his nose. "Please move two rows to your right," it repeated. It rolled toward her.

"Okay! Okay! I'm moving!" she replied, and did as she was asked. "I don't suppose there's any chance you could recommend a good book to read for the pool?"

"1001 Water Safety and Survival Tips, Mistress," it suggested.

"Ooh, and you've got a sense of humour, too," she quipped, before realizing she was talking to a robot dog. "Och, Gwen, you've clearly gone 'round the bend, this time," she muttered to herself.

"You have arrived, Mistress," K-9 informed her.

"Excuse me?"

"1001 Water Safety and Survival Tips can be found on the shelf to your right, Mistress," he informed her.

She looked where he had indicated and found the title along the spine, next to a slightly battered blue book with no markings. "Can I take borrow one, as well?"

"Book unknown. The Doctor would most assuredly advise against reading such a volume, Mistress."

"Well, that's not exactly a 'no', then, is it?" she declared and grabbed both books, hoping the blue book would be halfway interesting.

"I would advise against such an action, Mistress," K-9 repeated.

"You can advise all you want, I'm borrowing it," she informed the library guardian.

He started to roll toward her, then stopped and shut down. Gwen could have sworn she heard a faint buzzing, like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. Checking no one else was around, she shook her shoulders and headed towards the pool with another book she casually grabbed, "The Journal of Impossible Things." It looked just as interesting.

She didn't notice the shadow fall over K-9 as she left.

A humored voice intoned, "Bad doggie. I want her to read that."

* * *

Hartigan lead the pair to what appeared to the Doctor as a very modern school building. Will kept looking around, as if recalling something. The Doctor nudged him as they followed her inside.

"We lodge the children here as well as see to their educational needs," She informed them. "Very few orphanages offer that, believing themselves merely halfway homes for those lost souls who have fallen on unfortunate fates," she gave a sad smile. "Luckily for St. Georges, we have a very influential benefactor."

Will stopped short.

"He's even sponsored our annual Solstice Pageants, which we will be holding tomorrow night," she continued. "It's a chance for the children to show off what they have learned while here, for the neighbors and prospective parents," she beamed. "Unfortunately for the newer children, like Frederick, they will have to wait until next summer's Pageant." She stopped short. "I'm sorry, my apologies, that is if he does turn out to be the child of your friend, then I will make his recovery from here as swift as possible, even if-well, let's not think about that, now." She forced a smile of false concern.

The men nodded their understanding as they continued down the halls. Will kept stopping to peer in on the classrooms of children as they passed.

"How did you say you knew Mr. Lake?" she asked as they entered his office.

"Oh, we worked together. We were very close," Will answered without thinking before realizing what he said. "Uh, but that was some time ago, and well, we had a, um, parting, you could say. I had hoped to mend our grievances with my visit, but-"

The Doctor cut him off before he said anything further. "-but with the potential disaster that may have befallen him, our current concern is that of his safety and that of his family, you understand."

"Yes, absolutely," she replied. "Nothing worse in the world than not being able to tell someone how you really feel before they are taken from you, is there?"

"No. No, there isn't," the Doctor replied, somberly, thinking of a few people he had lost along his travels.

"Quite," she agreed. "Before going any further, I must ask you for some personal information. Just a formality, I assure you," she smiled as she opened a log book. "First off, I need your names and where you will be staying while in the city."

"Smith, John Smith," the Time Lord answered automatically.

"Will Markham, mum," he said before realizing something. "Uh, we really hadn't made any lodging plans. We assumed we would be staying with Jackson at his home while here," he explained. "Do you know of any cheap rooms we could stay? We really don't have that much between the two of us, you understand."

The Doctor gave him a questioning glance before realizing Markham was saying this as a cover for their having no permanent or even temporary lodging outside of the TARDIS.

"I see. Well, I do have a few places I could contact, but with the Solstice celebrations and all, it might be hard to find you something," she informed them. "If anything else, I believe we have a few spare beds in the boys' wing, if you don't mind?"

"Uh, in the boys wing, mum?" Will asked, more than a bit nervously. The Doctor gave him a curious look.

"Well yes, but they would be teacher's quarters," she clarified. "Most of our staff spend the Holiday with their own families, but a few do stay to tend to our student's needs," she said cheerily. "Besides, what would two grown men such as you do in the boy's dorm, anyway?"

"Teach 'em a few card tricks?" Will offered, forcing a chuckle. She returned it with an admonishing glare, knowing full well he best not mean it. "Uh, look, uh, we don't really have to stay here, do we?" He gave a nervous glance to the Doctor. "I mean, uh, we really don't want to be a bother and I'm-"

"Oh, it won't be a bother at all," she said politely. "We have plenty of room." Her smile sent a chill down both men's spines.

The Doctor leaned toward her. "Look, we just want to see the boy, talk to him, then we'll be on our way. Fair enough?"

She glanced to a sheet of paper. "Just let me check-sorry, since the boy is still new here, he hasn't been added to any of our classes, yet. There doesn't seem to be any dorm assignment listed here, either." She rose from her desk. "Let me ask my assistant, I'll be right back." She left the two men alone in the room.

The Doctor leaned over, "Something I should know?"

"We shouldn't be here, not here, not now," he replied, nervously.

The Doctor eyed him. "Will, is something wrong?"

"We shouldn't be here," he repeated.

"Why not?"

"The Pageant. It's not what it appears to be," he informed his friend. "We have to get out of here before we're found out. Before-"

"I'm sorry, is there a problem, Mr. Markham?" Miss Hartigan asked, coming back into the room.

"What? Uh, no. No, not at all, ma'am," he stammered. "It's just, uh, I, um, spent a few years in a place like this, myself, you see, and, uh, it wasn't a nice place," he babbled.

"I'm sorry for your experience, Mr. Markham. Rest assured, our facility is the best in the city," she smiled. "Some may argue it is one of the best in the country, but manners and humility forbid me from tooting one's own horn," she mused, adding a wink.

Neither man believed her, but humored her with equally false smiles.

"To the matter at hand, young Master Lake is dining at the moment, but should be available within the hour," she informed them. "Would you care to see the quarters you will be staying in?"

The Doctor threw a cautious glance to his companion before answering. "Again, if it's too much, I'm sure we can find our own accommodations-"

"I insist!" she implored. "In fact, I've already sent one of my staff to turn down the beds in the math tutor's quarters for you." She gave the men what would pass for a pleasant smile, but neither was swayed. "Am I correct in assuming you only require one bed? You are a couple, are you not?"

The Doctor blanched in surprise. Markham bust out laughing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he apologized to the other two for his outburst.

"You have assumed wrong," The Doctor replied, flatly. "We are merely acquaintances and traveling companions. Two beds will suffice."

"Oh, I see. My apologies, then," she demurred. "I'll see to it that two beds are prepared for your stay, instead, gentlemen. Please excuse me, will you?"

She left the room again and the Time Lord slapped the still giggling Markham on the shoulder. "Not a word to Jack, do you understand? Not a word."

"What about Gwen?" he snickered.

"No. one."

"Here we are," Hartigan said in false cheer as she reentered her office with a young blond boy in tow. "Mr. Campbell, here, will show you to your rooms, where you may freshen up before dinner. That is, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Oh no, Mum, we haven't!" Will babbled. "I could do with a bite, thank you very much!"

"Very well, then, I'll see that Frederick is brought by your rooms to talk, afterward?"

"Thank you very much, ma'am," the Doctor said as they both rose to leave. "We really do appreciate your hospitality on such short notice!"

"Nonsense!" she scoffed. "It is the Holiday, and what kind of example would I be setting for our children by turning out anyone at this time of year?"

That sickening smile spread across her face once again and the Doctor fought the urge to run from the room as it made his hearts turn cold.

"Run along now, and show our guests their quarters, Timon," she prodded the youth.

"Yes, mum," he replied obediently as he turned to leave, motioning the two men to follow him.

No sooner than they had left than Will asked the boy. "She's a bit of a fright, isn't she?"

"I suppose," he replied dully.

The Doctor gave his companion another strange look before inquiring, "What's your name, then?"

"Campbell, sir. Timon Campbell."

Markham stopped short. "W-what?"

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Will?" the Time Lord prodded.

"D-Did you say Tim-Timon Campbell? Timon Fitzhugh Campbell?"

The boy seemed taken aback this strange visitor knew his full name. "Do I know you, sir? How is it you know my name?"

Will turned to the Doctor. "I can't stay. I need to get out of here. Now."

"Will? What's wrong?"

He glanced to the boy again. "I can't be here. Not with-with _them_ here. I can't!" He slowly backed away from the boy.

The Doctor looked from him to the boy and back. "You know him, is that it?" he whispered.

Will forced himself to nod. "N-not just him. It's-"

A young brunette girl stepped into the hall. "You shouldn't be here." She cocked her head to the side as if sizing the two men up.

"G-Gw-You're G-Gw-?" Will stuttered, jumping back from her in shock. "I've got to get out of here," he pleaded to his friend. "I can't stay. Not here!"

"All you alright, sir?" Timon asked, confused.

The Doctor grabbed his arm. "Get hold of yourself, man! They're just kids, for-" he stopped short, seeing the fear in Will's eyes. "Who are they?" he whispered.

Markham was nearly hyperventilating, so it came as no surprise when he went limp and fainted dead away. If the Doctor hadn't been holding on to his arm, he might well have fallen on one of the children.

"Should I call for a medic?" Timon asked.

"No," the Doctor sighed. He began to pull Markham upright and nodded toward the boy. "Which way to the room? He's just tired from our long journey. A nap will do him wonders."

Timon glanced to the girl, who nodded, so he shrugged and motioned them to follow him. "This way, sir."

The girl only hesitated to look back a moment at a scowling Miss Hartigan, who had just come around the corner, before following the trio. Hartigan returned to her office.

* * *

Jack rummaged through the wardrobe room, searching frantically. "Where is it? I know he still has one!" he grumbled.

"Jack? Are you in here?" Gwen called out.

"Up here!" he shouted back, searching through another cabinet. "Where did you put it, you damn- A-HA! Found it!"

Gwen climbed the stairs to find Jack pulling out a storage locker, from which he pulled an orange jumpsuit and helmet. "What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing," he lied. "Where's the boys?"

"Alonso found the pool and insisted they go swimming," she informed him, examining the helmet. "Rhys won't go in without any trunks. Well, he won't go in with _Alonso_ without trunks. I came here looking for some. What's this for?"

"Another kind of diving," he replied, shucking his coat. "What's the oxygen tank say? Is it full?"

Gwen stared at him. "Jack? What are you up to?" she scolded.

"Nothing," he repeated. "Don't worry, I won't be gone long."

"I just told you there are going to be two men swimming in this-this _spaceship thing_ and you ignore me to-to-what are you doing?"

He began pulling on the suit. "Nothing you need to worry about. I won't be gone long," he smiled.

She sighed and helped him zip the suit closed. "Nope, nothing to worry about stuck in the past of a parallel world and you decide to go running off instead of ogling two naked men and me in a pool."

Jack stopped and paused. "Mm. Just more incentive to hurry back, right?" he teased before heading for the door.

Gwen was hot on his heels. "Jack, do you not trust me enough to tell me where you're going in case we have to leave, suddenly?"

Jack stopped and turned to her smiling. "Fine, but I have to check something first," he said before resuming his brisk pace towards the control room.

"Up or down?" she asked.

"Up. Way up."

"Shoot for the moon, why don't you-?" She stopped in her tracks. "Oh, you can't be serious?"

Jack pulled open the control room door. "It took you long enough," he teased, ushering her in. "What tipped you off? The spacesuit or-?"

"_Why_ are you going to the moon?" she demanded.

"I picked up a signal."

"From the moon? In 1851?" she asked. "What if it's aliens?"

"It's not aliens. Well, not aliens in the sense you think of aliens, but technology alien to this world," he informed her as he checked a readout on one panel.

"Jack-?"

He fastened the helmet and fiddled with his vortex manipulator. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, call the Doctor," he ordered her and vanished in a burst of light.

"_JACK!_"

* * *

"mmf? Wha-? Tosh?" Will snorted as he came around. He found himself in a strange room, in a strange bed. He glanced around the unfamiliar surroundings before seeing a small figure watching him in the dark. A light flipped on.

"She's the Chinese lady?" the girl from earlier asked.

"Japanese," he corrected, staring at her in disbelief. "How did you know?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "Sometimes...I-I see things I shouldn't. Thickie says I shouldn't tell anyone, but-you're not just anyone, are you? You or him?"

"Let's keep that our little secret, shall we?" he told her.

"You're not from here," she said. "You are, but you aren't. Not yet."

"And what about him?"

She looked down to the floor. "He's not from here, either. He's a long way from home, but he can never go back, again."

"Yeah? Why's that?" he asked.

"He's the Lonely Traveler, the Bad Wolf," she declared. "He's the Oncoming Storm, but he's not the one we've been warned about for ever so long."

"You forgot Time Lord Triumphant," the Doctor said, entering the room with a tray. "Here. It seems meal time is limited and if you didn't eat now, you'd go hungry until morning. I thought it best if I brought you something." He set the tray down on a dresser with a scolding look to his new companion. "Anything else I missed?"

Will looked away in shame before forcing himself to rise. He quickly sat back down. "Whoa, that's not right," he mumbled, rubbing his temple.

"You two will walk the winding path together," the girl informed them. "Your fates are joined, as ours overlap."

"Don't talk like you know what you're talking about, girl," the Doctor scolded her as he went to check on Will.

"She can't help it, she's always been like that," Will countered. "Haven't you Gwyneth?"

The Doctor froze at the name and turned to look at her again. "No, it can't be!"

"You shouldn't be here," she intoned again. "This isn't your time."

"Well, we'll be on our way as soon as we find our friend and make sure he's okay," the Doctor told her, still examining her face.

"Your journey weaves longer than you think before you can leave," she told him. "Your song ends where it begins."

The Doctor stared at her a long moment. "Do not speak of such things," he warned her again, face flushing red.

"What? What's she talking about?" Will asked.

The Time Lord snarled, "nothing."

"Your song is waiting to begin so it may finish," she said.

"Do not speak to me of songs and endings!" he scolded her again as a knock came at the door. "Who is it?" he spat, trying not to shout. He yanked the door open. "What?"

Timon and another boy, dark haired and chubby, stood there, startled by the large man's crazed glare.

"Y-yes, sir?" the chubby boy asked.

"What?"

"Yes?"

"Who are you?"

"Watt, sir."

"Eh? What?"

"Yes, sir."

"What?"

"Oh come off it, Mike!" Timon finally said, barging into the room. "He does this every time!" he informed the men as he plopped himself down on the edge of the bed.

"What?" the Doctor asked again.

"Yes, sir?" Mike replied, stifling a smirk.

"He'll do this all night if you let him," Timon warned.

"This isn't Frederick, is it?" the Doctor asked.

Before Mike could answer again, Markham cut him off. "No, it's not, are you, Michael Elliot Watt?"

The Time Lord finally caught on. "What? Watt?"

"Yes, sir?"

He raised his hand and fought the urge to backhand the boy.

"Go ahead and do it," Will urged. "He makes a habit of it all his life." He motioned the boy forward, patting the bed. "Don't ya, Thickie?" he chuckled. The boy grabbed the tray and began helping himself as he settled onto the bed. "Oi!" Will scolded and tried to salvage his dinner, winding up in a staring contest with the boy before taking his dinner back.

The Doctor closed the door now that the kids were no longer standing in it. He gave Markham a cautious look. "You know who these kids are? Why were you so scared of them, earlier?"

Will glanced to Gwyneth as he clapped a hand on Thickie's shoulder. "This is what I was trying to avoid. Meeting this lot." He chuckled to himself, "I was too worried about upsetting things to realize maybe I was meant to be here."

"What?" the Time Lord inquired before he could stop himself.

Markham slapped his free hand over the boy's mouth before he could start again. "I'll explain later," he said before turning to Timon. "You know the new kid, Frederic Lake?"

He shook his head. "No, but Gwyn, here, she talked to him already."

"What about you, Thickie?" he asked, shaking the boy with his hand still over his mouth. "You know who I'm talking about?"

A muffled "no, sir" was his reply.

"Well, I'll let you in on a secret. You lot better find him and get him out of here, soon as you can," he warned them. "Your futures depend on it." He gave a knowing glance to Gwyneth.

"Will!" the Doctor hissed, shaking his head.

"She already knows who we are," he informed his friend. "She'll know what to do."

"Aye, I know a lot of things," she agreed. "More things than any person was meant to know, I think."

The Doctor eyed her a long moment. "You're from Cardiff, aren't you?"

"Aye, born and raised, before I came here, sir."

"I thought so," he mused, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Now who's got secrets?" Markham teased. "You met her in your-" he paused, barely catching himself, "-where you're from, didn't you?"

"Rose," Gwyneth said before the Doctor could answer.

The Time Lord glared at her again. "Watch your tongue, girl."

"Leave her be," Will warned. "She can't control it."

The two men locked eyes, daring each other to make the first move.

"We need to find the boy, find his father, then get out of here," the Doctor finally said. He glanced to the girl.

"Say you're sorry," Will prodded.

The older man sighed. "I'm sorry. You just need to think before you speak in the future," he cautioned. "You can upset people with your knowledge without realizing the harm you are doing. It's a fine line to walk sometimes."

She stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged and stood up. "Are we done, then?"

"Where do you think you're going?" Will asked.

"To take you to Frederick," she said simply.

Will shook his head in disbelief and started to rise. He appeared to sway on his feet, then sat back down. "Maybe you should go on ahead?"

"Are you alright, Will?" the Doctor asked.

He waved the man off. "Still a bit woozy," he lied. "Just let me have a nap and I'll be fine."

The Doctor eyed him curiously. "Boys, stay with Will. Gwen, show me-"

"Gwyneth," Will corrected, tossing his companion an annoyed glance. "Here, take this," he said, tossing his wallet to the burly man. "My pictures are inside it to show Frederick."

The Doctor grabbed the wallet in midair and tucked it inside his coat. "Right, Gwyneth, let's go," he ushered the girl out the door. "You rest up and don't tell them anything they shouldn't know."

No sooner had the pair left than Will turned to the boys. "So, which one of you has a deck of cards?"

"Sorry, left them in my room," Michael replied.

"Nothing to read in here except math books," he noted. "Either of you got anything to read on ya? Storybooks? Graphic Nov-no, wait, they haven't been thought up, yet."

"What's a 'graphic nov'?" Timon inquired.

"Graphic _novel_," Will corrected, smiling. This was going to be a fun conversation, especially in light of what he knew of his great-grandfather's best friend and his future career as one of the first professional cartoonists.

* * *

Jack Harkness glanced around at the barren wasteland, remembering the bustling spaceport it would become in his time. For now, he was only interested in finding the source of the signal linked to his vortex manipulator.

Whatever it was, it lay ahead. He stepped over the rim of the lunar crater and looked down in astonishment.

Jack Harkness knew full well that this world had yet to develop any technology beyond steam power, much less achieved flight or even orbit.

What lay in front of him was a small, solar powered communications station. It was the source of the signal broadcast and it was directed away from Earth. Parts of it looked very familiar.

Now that he was in front of the machine, the message changed, distracting him. What Jack heard was just as surprising as the fact it came from a very familiar voice: his own.

"By Articles 15 and 57 of the Shadow Proclamation, this planet is protected by Order of Boeshane. You have been identified. If you do not leave this system in one planetary rotation, you will prosecuted to the fullest extent of galactic law by invocation of Clause 374. Have a nice day."

Jack was almost too astonished to laugh.

* * *

Gwyneth lead the Doctor to the medical wing. "In here," she said, pushing through the swing doors into the ward.

He glanced around the room to see a row of beds to either side of the room, but only one was occupied. Before they could approach, a feminine voice cleared her throat in a most annoyed manner behind them.

"Can I help you, sir?"

The Doctor turned to face the ward mistress, noting she seemed vaguely familiar before he noticed her nametag.

"Rosita, my dear!" he bellowed. "So nice to see you again," he greeted her.

He was met by a stern, blank stare from the dark skinned lady.

"I am sorry, I don't recall meeting you before, Mister...?"

"Oh, that's right, I didn't look the way I do now," he chuckled. "I'm the D-um, Smith, John Smith," he introduced himself, mentally kicking himself for forgetting his usual name was a curse word in this world. "We're here to see young Master Lake?"

She looked from him to Gwyneth. "Shouldn't you be in your quarters, young miss?"

"Miss Hartigan asked me to escort Mr. Smith," she lied.

"I see," she replied, not sure if she believed the girl or not. Several of the teachers and more than a few students had confided Gwyneth gave off an uneasy feeling of 'weirdness' but this was the first time Rosita had really met with her outside of a larger group. She sensed something different about her, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She was beginning to get a similar sensation from the girl's elder companion.

"That's the boy over there?" he inquired.

"Yes, sir, he's been quiet so far," she informed him. "We've really not done much but to make sure he wasn't injured, but he does seem to be missing his family after what happened-well, if you know the family, I'm sure I don't need to tell you?"

"Actually, no. I just arrived in town today only to find my friend's new home gone, and the family missing," he explained. "What have you been told what happened?"

"I'm sure it will be in all the papers tomorrow," Rosita confided before continuing in a lowered voice as she stepped around her desk. "Rumor has it that there was some bad wiring and a gas leak. I don't suppose I have to explain what happened next?"

The Doctor gave a concerned look to Gwyneth when she mentioned the gas leak, but turned back to Rosita as they approached the young boy's bed. "What of the family? His father? Do they know anything, yet?"

"No, sir, not that I've been told," she said.

"Hmm, interesting. Thank you," he mumbled as he fumbled for the wallet Will had given him. She stepped away as he flipped open the coverlet to the digital photo card display. He was reminded of those early 21st Century mobiles, except this one was as slim as an actual photograph. After flipping through some (very) personal pictures of Will's, he came across a group containing his companion's friend and the supposed father to this boy. The first one of the pair was one the boy didn't need to see. Neither did the Doctor.

He glanced up to see Gwyneth nudge the boy awake. "Frederic?" she prodded. "It's Gwyneth. Wake up."

The boy stirred and looked from her to the large man behind her. "Gwyn? What's going on? Who is that?"

"A friend," she assured him. "He says he knew your father?"

Frederick sat up to take a better look at the burly ginger. "Have we met?"

"Only in passing, my boy," the Doctor replied. "It's been a very long time since I've seen you, anyway," he smiled.

"Are my parents with you?" he asked. "I haven't seen them since-" He paused, unwilling to say more.

"No, but we are looking for them," he replied and held the wallet picture to the boy. "Is this him? Jackson Lake?"

The boy gave the photo card a curious look of disbelief. "Y-yes, but who-?"

"The other man is my friend, Will. He says he knew your father very well," he explained. "He's downstairs, but he's not feeling very well."

"I don't know him, either," the boy replied.

"Well, trust me, I can vouch that Will knows your father very well," he admitted, as a trace memory from Will came to mind. The Doctor silently cursed their first encounter and literal meeting of the minds after that image. "I'm sure there are lots of your father's friends you have yet to meet," he continued as he wondered to himself whether this Jackson Lake was as open-minded as the one he knew in this world's future or back in the world he was familiar with.

Frederic shrugged. "Where is father, now?" he inquired again.

The Doctor sighed and glanced to Gwyneth for a moment before answering. "I hope to find him as soon as I can," he admitted. "For you, for Will, and for other reasons, I hope we can find him as soon as we can."

"Thank you, sir."

"We'll let you rest, now," the Doctor confided. "Come on Gwen," he urged and turned to walk away.

"It's Gwyneth," she corrected, catching up to him.

"Eh? Oh, right. Sorry."

"Mr. Smith?" Rosita stopped him as they were about to leave. "You said you have a friend with you who is not feeling well?"

"Yes, Will. He's down in one of the teacher's quarters," he replied. "He fainted earlier, then seemed shaky and unable to rise from bed."

"Would you like me to stop in and check on him?"

He glanced to Gwyneth who nodded. "They're staying in Mr. Lambert's quarters, Miss," she informed the nurse.

"All right," she smiled. "I'll see you in a bit, then?"

"Thank you, Miss," the girl replied and followed the Doctor into the hall.

"Will he be alright?" he asked her as they headed back to the boys.

"Frederic? Yes," she replied.

"I was actually leaning more towards Will," he informed her.

"His time here grows short," she said simply.

The Doctor stopped mid-step. "What?"

"If my descendant Will Markham does not leave here promptly, his fate is sealed," she casually informed the Time Lord. "He will ask me to deliver his wife a letter explaining why he will do what he does before his sacrifice."

The Doctor's jaw dropped as he watched the girl continue down the hall. "Sacrifice?"

* * *

Elsewhere in Londinium, Jackson Lake found himself rousing from a two day slumber. His head pounded and body ached as he struggled to look around the unfamiliar room. "Where? Caroline? Frederic?" He glanced down to see a blood red ribbon piercing his arm. His mind still not alert to recognize what it was or that it led to a bag hung above his headboard. Nor did he notice the device on the table with a wire leading to his temple.

"Easy, my friend," came a voice from the shadowed room. Jackson could barely focus on the direction it came from. "You've had quite a time of it the last few days," the man said. "Just lie down and I'll take care of you."

"Where am I? Where's my wife? My son?" Jackson insisted. "Who are you?"

The man approached the bedside as Jackson lay back down. "I'm a friend, Mr. Lake. Your saviour and benefactor, as it were, considering your current condition."

"What do you mean? Where is my family?" he demanded.

"Gone, I'm afraid," he replied. He set a candle down on the bedside table, giving Jackson a fleeting glance at the gray haired man's face. "Don't worry, everything will turn out just fine," he soothed.

Something about the man made Jackson relax. Not just his words or his manner, but his...scent? The bed, if not the whole room, reeked of it and he found it intoxicating. He looked into the man's sparkling blue eyes. "Who are you?"

"Shh," he soothed, laying a finger upon Jackson's lips. "You may call me Lord Gerald Crichton, and I have a feeling that we're going to be good friends for quite some time, my handsome new friend," he said and kissed Lake's hand. "Sleep now, I'll tell you more in the morning," he insisted.

Jackson Lake was too exhausted to argue and soon fell back into his slumber, thoughts and memories of his wife and son faded away as he did. The dreams that came, however, were of fire and blood and those piercing blue eyes.

Somewhere in his mind, however, he knew his son lived and their lives were about to change forever. The fire in his dream became hair and the blue circles of eyes became knotted, looping and lengthening into a square, like a box opening into infinity. He felt he should fear what this meant, but felt oddly soothed instead.

* * *

Next: "You Are Not Alone."

TBC_


	12. The Lord's Pageant

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 12 - The Lord's Pageant

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Jack/Hartigan, OCs

* * *

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked Will Markham, returning to their temporary quarters in St. Georges Orphanage.

Will looked up from his deep discussion with his pre-teen great-grandfather and friend to see the ginger Time Lord with his great-grandmother. "Eh?"

"You had trouble standing, earlier, how are you doing now?"

"Oh, sorry, lost track of the time, talking to the boys, here," he explained.

"The boy's nurse will be down in a few to check on you," the Time Lord informed him, somewhat distracted. "She insisted."

Will got the sense his companion wasn't sharing everything. "Oh?" He glanced to his grandmother. She had obviously said something to the other man, unsettling him.

"We still don't know where to find Jackson," the Doctor said, obviously changing the subject. "We can't stay here, long. We'll be found out."

"It's Solstice Eve, we can't leave these kids alone, now," Will protested, glancing to the young trio.

"This from someone who was so scared of meeting them that he fainted?" he pointed out.

Will sighed and pulled his grandfather close. Michael resisted for a moment, then allowed himself to be pulled into the man's embrace, as if it were familiar, somehow. He already knew something was up with these two strangers, but neither man nor Gwyneth would say. He knew to trust her that much.

"I panicked," Will finally said. "But we can't leave, not yet. Not now. I won't leave them here." He hugged Michael tighter. "I can't."

The Doctor studied him for a minute. "You know something, don't you? What else is going to happen, Will?"

Markham looked over to his grandmother. He shook his head.

Before he could press further there came a knock at the door. Tossing Will a concerned look, the Time Lord went to open it.

"Hello, Rosita," he greeted the nurse, then motioned to the bed. "There's your patient. No need to be gentle."

"You've certainly got a crowded room, haven't you?" she quipped as she set her bag on the bed. "I don't suppose you lot should clear out?" she suggested.

"Go on, kids," Will urged, pushing the boys off and waving Gwyneth out. "And oi," he called to them, then pressed a finger to his lips and winked at the two boys.

This exchange did not go unnoticed by the Doctor as he ushered the trio out the door.

"Off with your shirt, then," Rosita instructed as she pulled out her stethoscope.

"Right down to business, then?" Will teased as he carefully removed his shirt with his wounded shoulder.

She pressed the cold instrument to his bare chest, making him jump. "You couldn't afford me, love," she teased back. Then she saw his shoulder wound. "How did you get this?"

"Got it in a fight," he answered after a moment.

"Did you win or lose?"

"Heh, saved a friend from getting killed is what," he told her. The memory of Charles tied down about to be killed shook him for a moment. "A very good friend."

"Your friend outside?"

"Hm? No, not him," he replied, distracted by his memory. "Another very dear friend I had to leave behind to come here," he admitted.

"Is he alright?" she inquired.

Will went quiet for a minute as she checked him over. "So you know the boy, Frederic?" he finally asked.

"Frederic Lake, yes? Quiet boy," she replied, noting he changed the subject. "We're still trying to find his family."

"He misses his father."

"He's asked after both his parents," she corrected before realizing what he meant. She stepped back and looked at him. "Do you know something?"

Will was quiet. "Jackson is a good man," he sighed, "he just- he needs someone to keep his head on straight, is all."

"You two are close?"

"Very," he replied without missing a beat, then adding, "once upon a time."

"You had a falling out?"

Will sighed. "We will, in time."

She paused and gave him a curious look before peering into his eyes. "Where did you say you came from?"

He froze for a second. "Edinburgh. We've been staying in Edinburgh," he lied.

Rosita stepped away and began tucking her bag away. "Well, I don't know what to tell, you, other than you had a panic attack and I can give you some antibiotics for your wound," she said, handing him a bottle of pills. "Also, you're a terrible liar," she informed him

Will hung his head. "I'm doing this for him, you know."

"Mr. Smith?"

"Jackson," he corrected her. "Trust me, you'll see what I mean, soon enough." He tossed two pills into his mouth, choking them down dry despite the glass of water still on the dresser.

She considered this a moment. "Right. Well, I've got to get back to the ward and keep an eye on young Mr. Lake. You'll excuse me, won't you?"

"Rosita?" he called after her, head hung low.

She stopped at the door and turned back. "Yes?"

He looked up for a moment, eyes pleading. "Keep him safe."

"Frederic? Of course," she replied, puzzled, then left.

"Jackson," he whispered after her.

The Doctor reentered the room. "What did you tell her?"

"We were from Edinburgh," he replied quietly.

The Time Lord considered this a moment, then nodded. "Get some rest, we'll look for your friend tomorrow."

"For Jackson."

"Right, for Jackson," he repeated. "Get some sleep, we'll start looking early, tomorrow."

Markham grunted and crawled under the covers. The Doctor lay on the other bed, waiting and thinking. He glanced over to Markham and could see the man's breathing had slowed, but wasn't quite sure if he had fallen back asleep or not. They, or at least Will, had the advantage of future knowledge of this time, but he hadn't known about Jackson's residence being blown up. He did know about his ancestors being present in this orphanage, and hinted at a possible danger in his panic. He wondered what else the man was unaware of? Or hiding?

* * *

The morning sun shone brightly through the window, waking Jackson Lake from his troubled dreams. He glanced around the unfamiliar room, trying to get his bearings. Nothing looked familiar.

He noticed a small bandage on his forearm. Inspecting it, he saw that whatever it had covered, it had healed, leaving no mark. He sat up in an attempt to stand, but found himself too dizzy to find his footing and sat there a moment in order to clear his head.

He noticed he was wearing what appeared to be a very expensive set of silk pajamas. He couldn't recall why, but he knew they were more expensive than anything than anything he could afford on a-what was it he did again? All his memories seemed just out of reach, as if recalling them meant...tragedy?

The door opened and an older man pushed a cart in with a silver domed tray on it. "Ah, you're awake," he beamed. "I brought you breakfast. How are you feeling?"

Jackson had no clue who the man was, but he seemed familiar somehow. Intimately so. "Good morning?" he replied, his head swimming.

"Still not awake, yet, eh?" the man teased, parking the cart beside Jackson. He leaned forward and kissed Lake on the forehead. "Well, Happy Solstice, anyway. Did you sleep well?"

Jackson stared at him, aghast. "I'm sorry, I don't-? Do I know you?"

Gerald Crichton forced a sad smile. "Oh, Jackson, how could you forget what we had?"

* * *

Gwen crossed her arms in disgust as Jack reentered the TARDIS. "Well?"

"That's a very deep subject," he smiled and pointed, "for shallow people."

"Don't start, Jack," she warned. "Where did you go and what did you find?"

He tossed his helmet on the sofa. "You would _not_ believe what I found on the far side of the moon!" he announced.

"Oh, aye?" Rhys asked, entering the control room. "You've been off gallivanting around while I had to baby-sit your latest boy toy!" he exclaimed. "He's a fair sight worse than you are!"

"Rhys, I'm sorry, but please calm down," Jack cautioned, before turning to Gwen. "You know what I found? Somebody down here has access to technology that does not belong here! It's not from now, it's not from the time we just left, it's-it's not from Earth!"

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked. "We were told there had been no invasions by the Daleks, Cybermen, or any other alien race the Doctor mentioned?"

"If it's not from one of them, then how do you explain they have a signal that can link to this?" he asked, holding up his arm with the vortex manipulator. "The knowledge of such technology can only be explained by-"

"-Greaves," Rhys finished. "He's you in this world, right? Then that means he built it, right?"

Jack and Gwen looked at him in disbelief.

"I'm right, aren't I?" he grinned.

"I was going to say another time traveler, but that does make the most sense, yeah," Jack admitted.

"He has his moments," Gwen smirked, then went to kiss him.

"Mm," Jack smirked in agreement, "that he does." Gwen turned back to Jack as Rhys hugged her close. "So, now that we know who put that signal there, what are we going to do about it?"

Rhys and Gwen shared a confused look. "Well," he began, "we already know it's keeping the riff-raff out, right?"

"So, we leave it on?" she asked.

"Well, we already know it's still active in the future," Jack acknowledged. "I say leave it on for now."

"Do we tell the Doctor, then?" Rhys asked. "Or at least, your other new boyfriend, Will?"

Jack smirked. "Jealous?" Gwen glared at him.

"Oi!" Rhys hooked his thumb toward the hallway. "Do you know what that other one wanted to do to me?"

Jack smiled, imagining the possibilities. Rhys wasn't amused.

* * *

"Knock, knock, gentlemen," Rosita called out as she entered their quarters.

"Morning, Rosita," The Doctor replied, momentarily turning away from watching the morning crowd passing by out the window.

"Happy Solstice! I just came to see how my patient was feeling this morning?"

He motioned to the covered lump in the bed. "Still sleeping."

She chuckled and shook Markham's shoulder. "Will? How are you feeling this morning?" A worried look crossed her face. "Will?"

The Doctor turned away from the window again to see what was the matter.

Rosita looked up at him in shock. "He's not here? It's all pillows?" she said, pulling back the sheet.

"Of course, it is," he replied, rolling his eyes. He scratched his head. "Only one place he could be. Where are the kids, this morning?"

She led him to the auditorium, where the resident children were putting on the annual Winter Solstice play. Will Markham was sitting towards the front, arms around the children flanking him, Timon and Gwyneth.

The Doctor made his way to the row behind his friend and leaned into his ear, whispering, "Where's Thickie?"

Will turned, a smile plastered across his face as he almost bumped noses with the Time Lord. "You just missed him, but he'll be back on in a few," he boasted. He had tears streaming down his face.

"Good or bad?"

"Fantastic!" he grinned.

The Time Lord was tempted to say something, but decided not to ruin the morning for his new friend or the children. He found he actually quite enjoyed the performances they put on, and was in good spirits as the performances finished and the quartet waited for Michael in the outside hall.

No sooner had he appeared, than Will grabbed him up and hugged him tight, babbling on about how good he was.

"Will, you're making a scene," the Doctor cautioned, watching the crowd of children and more than a few adults milling about.

"I don't care," he bleated. "Did you see this guy up there? I never knew he could-"

"Will!" the Time Lord hissed. "shh!"

Markham realized he had almost blown their cover and set his great-grandfather back down and pulled Timon closer. "You know, why don't you lot go find Frederic and take him back to our quarters, eh?" he urged the pair. "We'll meet you there in a few minutes."

The boys ran off, laughing, as Gwyneth lagged behind, giving the pair a cautious look before she followed them around the corner.

"You're obviously in better spirits this morning, but you are also drawing undue attention to yourself hanging about with these kids!" the Doctor chastised his companion as he stood.

"I'm sorry, I just got caught up in the morning celebrations and-" he stopped short as something caught his eye behind the larger man.

A quartet approached the pair. Three men accompanied Miss Hartigan, two of whom bore familiar faces, including one in a wheelchair. She cleared her throat. "Excuse me? I have someone I believe you would like to meet," she said. The man pushing the wheelchair stepped away, obviously done with his role as an aide for the moment.

Without thinking, Will exclaimed "Jackson!" and began to move toward his friend, but the Doctor grabbed his good shoulder, stopping him. He eyed the elder newcomer warily.

The man in the wheelchair gave the bearded newcomer a strange look, as if trying to recognize him.

"Ah, I see you do know him?" she asked before motioning to the other man. "This is Lord Gerald Crichton, our benefactor here at St. Georges', and, as it turns out, the gentleman who has been nursing Mr. Lake back to health the last few days."

The Doctor put on a fake smile. "Lord Crichton. We thank you for helping our friend. Call me John Smith, and this is Will Markham," he introduced them. "Will's been very worried about our mutual friend, here. Is he alright?"

Crichton regarded the Time Lord with suspicion. "He's had a rough time of it, but seems to be healing. He's had some memory loss, though," he explained before asking, "I'm sorry, have we met, before?"

Will started to say something, but bit his tongue. The Doctor threw him a cautious glance and tightened his grip on the man's shoulder before answering. "Not that I recall, my good man. I only know of your lordship by reputation, I'm afraid."

"Hmm, I once knew a 'John Smith', but that was many, many years ago," Crichton replied. "He was a Lord, as well. Quite a dashing fellow in his time, I seem to recall. Liked to run a lot, too," he chuckled. "Still, he often rose to the occasion when needed," he mused.

The Doctor remained stone faced, unsure whether the immortal before him was egging him on or making idle conversation. "Lord John Smith? I'm sorry, I never heard of him, but you describe a rather intriguing man," he finally said.

"Where did you say you were from?" Crichton inquired. "I can't quite place your accent."

"Edinburgh," Will replied hastily.

Crichton spared him a passing glance before returning his gaze to the Time Lord. "Hm, from the North, then?"

"Yes. Lots of places have a North," he replied.

"So I'm told," Crichton noted. "Anyway, I hear there is someone else here that would like to see Mr. Lake?"

"I believe I know who you are talking about," the Doctor replied, then turned to the girl hiding around the corner. "Gwyneth? Where did the boys scamper off to?" he asked, playing dumb so as not to reveal himself.

Crichton did a double-take at seeing the girl step into view and seemed surprised at her appearance. He took a half-step back as she approached, joining her great-grandson and his friend.

"Mr. Markham asked Michael to bring Frederic to your quarters, sir," she said politely, acknowledging Miss Hartigan, who nodded her approval of the girl's manners. "They await your arrival, there."

"Very good, Gwyneth, run along now," Hartigan suggested. The girl gave an inquiring glance to her grandson, who nodded, before leaving the adults. This did not go unnoticed by the others. Hartigan gave him a disproving look. "Well then, gentlemen, shall we see father and son reunited?" she asked and began to lead the way to the time travelers' assigned quarters.

"I'll push Jackson," Will offered before either of the other two men could move. He leaned down into his future lover's ear as he led the way, "I have missed you so much, my friend. You are not alone, remember that. You are never alone." He pressed his temple to Jackson's as he began following Hartigan.

"Do I...know you?" he asked, confused.

Will felt his heart break. "You will, my friend. You will."

As they went along, the Doctor felt the need to make idle conversation. "So remind me again who this orphanage is named after, St. George?"

"St. Georges," Hartigan corrected. "He was a brave warrior who fought against an evil knight in silver, freeing the land of Albion from his tyranny."

"No dragons, then?" he asked.

The other three stopped and stared at him in a mix of confusion and, from Will, alarm.

"What? No dragons? You know, from folklore and myth?" he asked. "Big lizard looking things? Really Big?"

"Ah, you said you were from the North, you must mean the Norse World Serpent, Jormungand?" Hartigan asked.

"Yes! Yes, of course! Jormungard!" the Time Lord, laughed heartily, hoping they believed him.

"That's funny, the Aesir usually have beards," Crichton noted. "It's part of their religious beliefs. And Smith isn't usually a Norse name, is it?"

The Doctor fumbled. "I was raised in that belief, but don't practice it, myself," he lied. "I also like to keep a smooth face. Too many lasses found it ticklish."

Crichton regarded him a long moment. "If you say so, Mr. Smith."

"If you lot are done, I'm sure Frederick would like to see his father?" Markham interrupted, hoping Crichton wouldn't press the issue further.

"My apologies," Crichton said and motioned down the hall for Will to continue pushing Jackson. He still kept a cautious eye on the Time Lord.

When they reached the room, they found the three boys waiting for them. The younger blond boy jumped up and shouted "Father!" as he ran to hug the man.

Jackson looked at him in horror. "I-I-I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The words struck the boy as they would if a carriage had just run over him. He stumbled back and looked like he was about to fall if Thickie hadn't run to catch him, first.

"Jackson?" Will prodded, kneeling beside his friend. "Don't you recognize him? He's Frederic, your son."

"I don't have a son, do I?" he asked Will, then looked up to Crichton. "Do I?"

Crichton remained silent.

"What have you told him?" the Doctor demanded.

"I have told him nothing he does not already know," Crichton retorted. "It is not my fault he has lost his memory in the explosion."

"Yes, about that, what exactly happened to their home the other night?" the Time Lord goaded him. "What do you know? Where is his wife, Carolyn?"

"Caroline," Will corrected.

"I know nothing," Crichton maintained.

"C-Caroline? Why does that seem familiar?" Jackson mumbled, heard only by Markham and Frederic. He looked to the boys again, trying to force himself to remember.

"Gentlemen, please do not argue in front of the children," Miss Hartigan insisted.

"My apologies, Mercy," Crichton replied, and motioned the Doctor towards the door. "Mr. Smith, shall we?"

"After you," he insisted. Crichton seemed annoyed, but led the way into the hall. "Will, stay with Jackson and the kids," he cautioned before closing the door behind him.

"You have a problem with me, Smith?" Crichton demanded.

"What happened to Jackson Lake doesn't add up," the doctor informed him. "If I find out you did something to him-"

"I have done nothing to harm Jackson Lake."

"What about his wife and son?"

"I had nothing to do with what happened to his family or their home," he insisted.

The Doctor didn't believe him. "Fine. Then what do you believe what really happened to him?"

"There was an explosion at his home."

"Caused by?"

Crichton remained silent.

"What caused the explosion, Crichton?"

"I cannot and do not wish to explain the circumstances of the events at 15 Latimer Street to someone such as you," he finally said.

The Doctor eyed him for a moment, then glanced to the door before turning back to Crichton. "He was working on something? For you? For the University? The government? What was it?"

He motioned Hartigan away before turning back to the Doctor. "You don't have the clearance nor the ability to understand what he was working on."

The Doctor pulled out his wallet and flashed it at Crichton. "This says I do."

Crichton looked at the psychic paper and laughed. "What is that supposed to be?"

"What?" he asked, mystified as to why the paper didn't fool the immortal.

"It's a blank piece of paper!" he laughed, then stopped and looked at the annoyed time traveller again. "No, not just paper, but psychic paper, isn't it?"

The Doctor tucked the wallet back in his jacket. "Psychic what now?" he asked, trying to cover.

"You expected me to see some sort of official credentials on that, didn't you Doctor?" he smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I must have left the ID in my other jacket, he lied, then stopped. "Wait, what did you call me?"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, old friend?" Crichton sneered.

"The only friends I have here are inside that room," the Time Lord insisted. "And don't call me Doctor!"

"That's your name, isn't it?" Crichton pushed. "After all these years, these centuries, you've finally shown up, haven't you? You finally found me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" he denied. If they were exposed, he had to wonder what would happen to Jackson, Will, and the children, now, much less how they would get back to the TARDIS to leave.

"Heh. Whatever you say, Time Lord."

"I told you, I'm not a Lord of anything," he protested.

Crichton slammed his hand against the wall beside the Doctor. "Say my name, Doctor. Who am I?"

"Lord Gerald Crichton," the Doctor replied flatly.

Before Crichton could continue, the door flew open and Markham stood there, glaring. "What's going on out here?" he demanded.

"The new companion?" Crichton asked the Time Lord. "Not quite up to Rose or even Martha standard, but still kinda cute, if you ask me," he scoffed. "Where'd you find him?"

Will Markham's response was a left roundhouse to Crichton, knocking him on his back. "You shut your fucking mouth, you traitor!" Will shouted.

Crichton rubbed his jaw and laughed. "Still as loyal to you as ever, eh, Doc? Even this one?"

"Watch your mouth, Geoff!" Will yelled before he could catch his mistake.

Crichton's interest was really piqued, now, as he started to stand. "Geoff? I don't recall using that particular alias before," he noted. "How far along in the future are you from?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Will stammered.

Crichton looked from him to the Doctor. "When are you from, Doctor?"

"Don't call me that," he replied. "I'm not the Doctor."

Crichton began chuckling. "Liar. In this world, in this time, calling someone 'Doctor' is the biggest insult in any language. I've made sure of that," he informed the Time Lord. "The fact you don't even flinch or get angry means you've been called it before. For years, maybe 900 or so?" he insisted. "I know you've regenerated before, Doctor. I can only guess at what happened or how many times you may have changed since last we met after the Year That Never Was, but it is you, isn't it?"

Markham flinched at the word "regenerate", which did not go unnoticed by Crichton, who also noticed his curiosity at the mention of the time looped battle with the Master aka Harold Saxon and the Toclafane.

The ginger man remained stone faced. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Crichton slapped him. "Liar!"

Markham made to strike him again, but the Doctor held his hand up, stopping his attack. "I have been called many things in my time, but that is not my name, Lord Crichton."

"Then tell me, Time Lord," he goaded. "What is your true name? What did your whore of a mother name you on Gallifrey?"

The Doctor's face grew cold. "For someone regarded as a Lord, you sure know a lot of curse words and insults," he said. "I told you to call me John Smith. If that is not good enough for you, then I do not know what to tell you."

Crichton bristled at the man's refusal to admit his true identity. "Fine, then what about your friend here? What will you do if I torture or kill him to get you to admit you are the Doctor?"

Will steeled himself to assault the immortal, but the Doctor held him at bay again. "Only a lesser man would harm an innocent in a perceived battle between two enemies. If you harm him, Jackson, or any of those children, you will be my enemy. If I truly am who you think I am, then you know what becomes of my enemies. Do I make myself clear?"

Crichton glared at the man for a long moment. "Not in front of the children."

"Never in front of the children."

"Before you leave, Doctor, I promise you will make a sacrifice," he warned before turning and leaving.

The Doctor held his gaze steady against the immortal, but cast a nervous glance to Will as Crichton retreated.

"We've got to get out of here, now," Will insisted.

"Do you have some way to make provisions for Lake and the children? Get them out of Crichton's clutches?"

"I-I can't think of any-well, there is one, but we may be pushing destiny with it."

"If it's our only chance?"

Will lowered his voice. "Doctor, this is _my_ destiny we're talking about! Not only that, but what we do could affect the future, not to mention Charles and the family!"

The Time Lord held his insistent gaze. "Time can be rewritten, Will. Besides, Christmas is a time for miracles."

"What the Hades is 'Christmas'? It's Winter Solstice, and-" he stopped mid-sentence, realizing something. "We've got to get out of here, now, Doctor! Grab the kids and Jackson, we've got to move!"

"Why? What's wrong, Will?" he asked as his friend went into complete meltdown.

"Part of the reason I was so worried about being here?" he asked. "This whole orphanage blows up today."

The Doctor began moving before Will finished speaking.

"Wait! Where's Gwyneth?" Will asked as he followed the Time Lord back into their quarters.

"She didn't follow us to get Frederic," Timon informed the adults as they scurried to make a hasty retreat.

"Where would she go?" Will asked. "We need to find her and get out of here, now!"

The Doctor grabbed his arm. "Will, you and the boys spread the word to the other children to evacuate, I'll see to Jackson and Frederic," he ordered.

Will nodded, then stopped and knelt to his friend in the wheelchair. "Jackson, I know you don't know me, but remember what I said and remember who you are. Can you do that?"

Jackson gave him a confused stare. "I-I think I can?"

"I know you can, my friend," he said and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before leading the other two boys out.

"Does he do that a lot?" he asked the Time Lord.

"You tell me," he muttered, "you knew him better." He wheeled the chair around and grabbed Frederic's hand. "Sure you don't want to ride on his lap? We'll go faster."

The boy gave his father an awkward look. Jackson returned a mix of confusion and fear as he held out a hand to the son he didn't recognize. "We need to hurry."

Frederic hopped into his lap. "I don't want to lose you again, Father," he said as the Doctor wheeled them out into the hall, looking for any sign of their impending doom.

"What did you say you were doing again, Jackson?" the Time Lord inquired, hoping he could jog the man's memory. "You worked for the University?"

"I-I can't remember?" he replied. "I can't remember much of anything, but-" He paused, pushing himself to recall anything. "Something large and-and blue? Some sort of transport?"

"You made another TARDIS?" he asked. "Tethered Aerial Release, Developed in Style?"

"A what? No," he replied, clutching at a vague memory. "Tech-Tech-Air...something?"

"Well, do you know where you stored it?" the Time Lord prodded as they turned a corner, nearly running down Rosita. "Oh, Rosita! I'm so sorry!" he apologized.

"What's going on? Where are you off to in such a rush?" she demanded. "Who is this with Frederic?"

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, this can't be a coincidence!" he exclaimed. "Hurry, we need to get Jackson and his son out of here as soon as we can! Is there any way to evacuate the building I a hurry?"

"What? Why would you even think of such a thing?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"Do me a favor?" Get these two out of here as fast as you can, don't let anyone intercept you except my friend Will, he knows what's going on. Do you understand me?"

"W-well, I-yes? Yes, I can do that," she said and took his place behind the chair.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, then realized something. "Jackson, this is Rosita, Rosita, Jackson Lake. I'm sure you two will get along just fine!"

"Wait! What are you going to do?"

"Save the children!" he yelled as he started to run off. "Wait! Where would you send them if there were a fire drill?"

"Out-outside, to the playground?"

"And if there were a real fire?"

"I-I don't know? The park down the street, maybe?"

"Bloody brilliant, Rosita!" he exclaimed. "Remind me to kiss you later!" She had no response to that as he disappeared down the next corner.

"Please, Miss, I think we need to hurry," Frederic insisted. Rosita nodded and began heading towards the front doors.

"Gwyneth! Where are you girl?" Will demanded as he raced down the corridors, the two boys trailing close behind. "Where is she, Thickie? Where's she usually hide?"

"With us, sir," he panted, struggling to keep up.

"In the Library," Timon corrected. "She's always reading, saying the history books are wrong," he insisted.

"So I've heard," Will muttered under his breath. "Quick, which way?" he asked them and followed them to another wing.

They burst in and began calling for her. "Gwyneth! Gwyneth, where are you girl?"

She stepped out from one of the aisles. "Over here," she said.

"We've got to leave, right now!" Will said, picking her up.

"We can't leave," she told him.

"Eh? Why not?"

"The bomb."

Will's face went slack. "What? Where?"

"The man from earlier, the one who can't die, he put a bomb in here."

"What? In the Library?" he asked. "Where is it?"

She pointed back down the aisle she had come from. "I looked at it, but I don't know how to turn it off."

Will set her down and motioned to them to move away before approaching it. The timer had just passed the eight minute mark. The explosives were attached to the radiator. Will could only guess that Crichton could later claim it was the gas heater or boiler that blew up, destroying the orphanage and killing as many as he could, The Doctor and himself, included.

"Oh, blimey."

Suddenly, the PA system screeched to life. "Hello? Is this thing on?" came the Doctor's gruff voice. "Right, well then. Attention everyone, we are about to have a fire drill. In honor of Solstice, we are then heading to the park for the rest of the afternoon, so enjoy yourselves," he announced.

Will could hear faint cheers from down the hall filter in. He glanced to his great-grandparents with a concerned look on his face. Neither they nor their friend believed what they were hearing. He hoped it was because they had heard the argument with Lord Crichton earlier more than the fact they just found out the building was about to be blow up.

"I repeat, we will begin a fire drill right now and you will all meet at the park down the street," the Doctor intoned again. "Please behave yourselves until an accurate count can be taken and-"

"What do you think you are doing?" came Miss Hartigan's screech.

"I repeat," the Doctor yelled. "We are having a Fire Drill and you are all to reconvene at the park! Everybody out! Now!" he said again, sounding as if he were struggling with someone as they heard Hartigan screaming at him to hand over the microphone immediately. Another burst of earsplitting feedback and the PA went silent.

"Oh, thank you, Doctor!" Will looked to the children. "You heard him, get the fuck out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Michael decided.

"Now I know why they call you Thickie," he growled and knelt down so he could look him in the eye. "You listen to me, boy! I am putting you in charge of making sure Gwyneth and Timon get out of here safely, do you understand me?"

"You've been the only one to be nice to me here besides them," he protested. "I won't leave without you!" he was on the verge of tears.

"This is no time to argue!" Will told him. "You only have a few minutes to get clear! I need you to get those two out of here while I try to stop the bomb!"

"You mean bombs," Gwyneth said as Timon tried to do the sensible thing and pull her out.

All three stopped to stare at her. "W-what? Bombs? Plural?"

"Yes, I saw him set this one, but I also see that this isn't the only one," she informed him. "He set this one and then touched his wrist and disappeared. I know he was setting several bombs to explode."

"Bloody Hades," he moaned then turned back to Thickie. "Michael, I am asking you, begging you: please make sure these two get out of here safely. Do you understand me?"

"I won't leave you."

"You don't get it, do ya?" he said. "If you don't get out of here, right now, there won't be a me for you to like and ignore, right now!"

"What?"

"Aarrgghhh!" Will exclaimed, fighting the urge to strangle the boy. "It's complicated, but I need you to get them out of here, immediately, or else! GO!"

"But-"

"GO!"

"The timer is going faster, now!" he pointed.

Will looked down and saw for himself that the timer on the explosives attached to the radiator had somehow accelerated. He pushed at his grandfather and ran for the door. "GO! Go-go-go! Move! RUN!"

He barely pulled the thick, wooden door shut behind him before he felt the first explosion slam the door off it's hinges and him into the wall opposite. The last thing he saw was the three children running for their lives.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	13. Conflagration

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 13 - Conflagration

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/Jack/Hartigan, OCs

* * *

The St. Georges PA system screeched to life. "Hello? Is this thing on?" came the Doctor's gruff voice. "Right, well then. Attention everyone! We are about to have a fire drill. In honor of Solstice, we are then heading to the park for the rest of the afternoon, so enjoy yourselves," he announced.

Will Markham could hear faint cheers from down the hall by the Library filter in. He glanced to his young great-grandparents with a concerned look on his face. Neither they or their friend believed what they were hearing. He hoped it was because they had heard the argument with Lord Crichton earlier more than the fact they just found out the building was about to be blow up.

"I repeat, we will begin a fire drill right now and you will all meet at the park down the street," the Doctor intoned again. "Please behave yourselves until an accurate count can be taken and-"

"What do you think you are doing?" came Miss Hartigan's screech.

"I repeat," the Doctor yelled. "We are having a Fire Drill and you are all to reconvene at the park! Everybody out! Now!" he said again, sounding as if he were struggling with someone as they heard Hartigan screaming at him to hand over the microphone immediately. Another burst of earsplitting feedback and the PA went silent.

"What in Zeus' name do you think you are doing, you-you-you Aesir!" she accused.

The Doctor tucked his sonic screwdriver back in his jacket. "Saving the lives of the children here," he informed her. "And if I found being called an Aesir an insult, I would be heartily offended, Madame," he told her in his most indignant tone.

"Get out of here!" she screamed and tried to turn the PA back on.

"That's not going to work for you," he warned.

"What have you done?" she accused again. "You've ruined my Pageant!"

He approached her and leaned down into her face. "Miss Hartigan, I didn't like you the first time I met you, nor do I now. I assure you, I am doing what I think is right to save these children and-"

His words were lost as the building shook with an explosion.

"It's already started?" he exclaimed. "Quick! See to the children! Make sure no one is injured!"

She rushed toward the door to tend to her charges. "Where are you going?"

"To find the sneaky immortal bastard who did this!" he shouted as he left the room. "And kill him if I have to," he muttered under his breath as the tide of children headed outside and the fire alarms started blaring. "Oh sure! _Now_ they turn on!" he shouted to no one in particular.

He tried shouting for Will over the stampede of children, but it did nothing but distract a few random boys trying to make their exit. He finally gave up trying to fight the stream of panicked smaller bodies and followed the flow outside where he soon located Rosita and Lake.

"Oi! Jackson!" he called out as he approached. "Did you remember where your workshop was?" he begged.

"Workshop?" he repeated confused.

"I haven't got time for this!" the Time Lord exclaimed and grabbed the man's head, bringing him eye to eye. "Remember who you are, Jackson Lake!" he demanded. "Remember what you were and what you have and have lost."

Jackson screamed as the memories flooded back. "NO! Caroline! Frederic!" he began sobbing.

"I am sorry, my friend. I am so, so sorry," he apologized before turning to Rosita. "Get them to safety." He turned to leave.

"Wait! What about you?" she asked.

"If you don't see me again, don't worry," he told her. "Just promise me you'll see after Jackson and his son."

She nodded as he turned and disappeared into the mass of people escaping the orphanage and the locals scurrying to help them.

One man in a odd style of long coat seemed to stop and give Jackson an odd look before hurrying along. She thought he was quite handsome and could have sworn he smiled and winked at her before moving along.

* * *

Jack Harkness played with the TARDIS controls in boredom, glancing at the external monitor from time to time in case the anachronistic, large blue "Police Box" was discovered in it's back alley hideaway. He almost missed catching sight of a light rain of debris, the TARDIS having absorbed the slight tremor of the nearby explosion from it's occupants, but sat up as he saw passersby on the street in alarm and running to and fro.

He grabbed his coat and ran outside.

In the street, there was panic. "What's going on?" he asked one man who passed him.

"The orphanage just blew up!" he said, barely pausing to talk. "We have to save the children!"

Jack didn't argue, and followed to help. Knowing their mission, he figured that was the best place to find the Doctor and Will. In his rush, he never noticed he was being watched by a very familiar face. The well-dressed man made note of where Jack had come from and disappeared down the same alley. When he saw the TARDIS he smiled.

Lord Gerald Crichton pulled out a small, silver whistle and blew as long as he could. He had been practicing for years to keep a steady note for hours if need be.

He smiled as his objective finally appeared at the door, clutching at his ears. "Good doggie," he smiled.

The young man looked up at him in confusion. "Lord Greaves?"

* * *

Will Markham opened his eyes. They were watering from the smoke. He could smell the fire and feel the heat. He tried to move, but was pinned by the door on his back. The thought of dying over a hundred years before he was born flashed through his mind before he forced it away and told himself to get up, get moving, get away. Pain shot through his left leg. He hoped it wasn't bad as he managed to slip his still good left arm underneath him and pushed himself up, forcing himself to ignore the pain in his already injured right shoulder.

"Here! He's here!" he heard someone shout. A young someone. He could barely see through the smoke, but he knew who it was.

"I thought I told you lot to get clear?" he demanded.

"I told you I wasn't going to leave you," Thickie replied, pulling the burning door from the man's back.

"How bad is it?" he asked, crawling to his feet. Another pair of hands helped him to stand. He looked down to see Timon. "Where's Gwyneth?"

"She went for help, sir," the blond boy replied.

"She did?" he grunted as he tried to stand. "Hopefully, she won't come back into this mess," he wished as Thickie knelt down to inspect his leg.

"It looks bad, sir," he said. "I hope you didn't nick an artery or something?"

"Use your necktie, wrap it around my leg above the blood," he instructed. "You know what a tourniquet is?"

"No sir?" he replied but he did as he was instructed.

Markham glanced down to see how his grandfather had done. "Coulda fooled me," he grunted. "Come on guys, we've got to get out of here."

"The stairs down are blocked, sir," Timon informed him. "We've no way down."

"Of course not," Will laughed. "What about up? Can we get up to the roof?"

The boys looked at each other and shrugged. "This is the top floor, sir," Thickie informed him. "The only access to the roof is restricted to the janitors and chimney sweeps and the like?"

"Does it look like I care?" he huffed as he tried to walk on his leg. The smoke from the burning books was beginning to get heavy. "Come on, guys, it's the roof or nothing."

As they reached the roof access, another explosion rocked the building. Will hugged the boys close as he covered them from light debris.

* * *

Jack had finally made his way to the semi-demolished building as the second explosion blew up another part of the orphanage. He could hear various shouts of "Are all the children out?" and "Where's the fire brigade?"

He made for the front entrance as several people tried to stop him, only pausing as he passed a familiar face in a wheelchair. He didn't get very far past that in when he heard a girl crying.

As he went to her, she seemed familiar somehow. "Are you alright?" he asked the crying girl.

"The smoke," she coughed. Then looked at him and jerked in surprise. "You're him, aren't you? The other fixed point?"

"What? Gwen?" he asked in disbelief.

"Gwyneth," she corrected. "You're with him, aren't you? The Doctor?"

He picked her up to carry outside. "Yeah, sweetie, have you seen him? There's another man with him, just as big, with a beard?"

"The boys went to help my grandson, he was hurt trying to save us," she said.

"Grandson?"

"Will needs help, I don't want to see him die before he is born," she told him.

He carried her down the front steps. "Where did you last see them?"

She pointed towards where the first explosion had damaged the building. "The Library."

"Okay, do you have somewhere to go? Someone to meet out here to watch you until we get back?"

"Mr. Lake and Frederic," she replied as he set her down. "They'll be waiting at the park."

"Jackson? Well, you go find them, I'm going to try and save Will," he told her. "And be careful!"

"Thank you," she hugged him, then whispered in his ear. "Don't break his heart again, he already misses those he left."

He stared at her in disbelief. "I'll try not to," he said and turned back into the building. He reached for his vortex manipulator as he did so.

* * *

Will pushed the boys onto the roof ahead of him. He could see the roof over the Library sag, beginning to buckle. Flames licked up from the other end of the building where the second explosion had gone off. He wondered if Greaves, Crichton, whatever he called himself had set many more bombs.

"What do we do now?" Thickie asked.

"Get to the front, where they can see us," he ordered. "Be careful! The roof may go at any time!"

The trio made their way to the front edge and began calling attention to themselves. Most of those down below were clearing away now that they believed the building had been cleared. Will realized they probably wouldn't be heard over the commotion three stories below. He began looking for another escape alternative.

"Oh bloody Hades," he muttered as he saw it. "What is that?"

The Doctor approached in an odd contraption that could only be described as a blue bicycle with wings supported by a large blue balloon. "Ho Ho Ho!" he called out, trying to maneuver the machine around the fires and warm updrafts toward the roof.

"What is that?" Will yelled back in disbelief.

"Jackson built it!" the Time Lord boasted. "Technological Aerial Reconnaisance for Defense, Inspection, and Surveillance!" he laughed as Will grabbed hold of the frame to bring him down. "It seems the only problem is it was meant to be a one man craft," he informed his friend as he glanced to the boys.

"Can you carry both boys?" Will asked.

The Doctor looked from them to his friend. "You're injured. How bad?"

"Never you mind me," he protested. "Can you rescue the boys from up here with that?"

The Doctor glanced up to the balloon. "Can you push us off?"

"If it's the last thing I do, Doctor," he said. "I need you to get these two to Jackson."

The Time Lord raised his eyebrow at this, but didn't question it. He motioned to the young pair. "Come on, you lot! Hold on to me as tight as you can!"

Will helped Timon climb onto the machine, then turned to Michael. "Up you go, kiddo," he said. "You be sure and listen to this man until you get to Jackson, alright?"

"I don't want to leave you," he protested.

"You'll see me again. I promise," he assured the youth. He pulled two envelopes from his jacket. "Make sure Jackson and Gwyneth get these, alright?" The boy nodded. He kissed him on the head. "I love you, Thickie, but right now, you've got to be strong for me, and look after Gwyneth, you understand?" He began pushing the balloon-bike along.

"Will?"

"Yeah kid?" he grunted as he pushed.

"I'll miss you!" he shouted as they went aloft, soaring over the street below, surprising the handful of people who had remained to help the disaster.

"I'll miss you, too, old man," Will whispered after the trio.

Another explosion shook the building. Will felt the roof begin to crumble beneath his feet. He glanced over the edge and wondered if he could survive a three story fall?

He didn't have a chance as the roof gave way and he felt himself fall into the flames.

Michael Watt looked back at hearing the explosion to see Will fall. "_NOOO_!" he shouted and futilely reached back for the man.

"Stay still!" the Doctor warned him. "I'm barely keeping aloft, and if we don't land soon-"

"The park is that way, sir!" Timon motioned, pointing toward where the crowd was gathering. "We can land there!"

"Good boy!" the Doctor grinned and aimed for the open area of snow-covered grass. Then he realized they weren't descending, but ascending. "Oh blimey! The updrafts!"

"What do we do?" Thickie asked, still concerned about Will.

"I can't let go of the controls," he explained. "I need one of you to reach into my jacket and grab the metal rod in there," he told them.

Thickie did as he was told, producing the sonic screwdriver. "What will this do?"

"Point the blue end at the balloon and press the button!"

Thickie did as instructed. The device tore a rip in the balloon, allowing them to descend.

"Remind me when we land to give Jackson a piece of my mind about building inventions!" he yelled as he aimed for what he hoped was a snow bank and not a hill as the machine crashed to earth.

* * *

Jack had just reached the roof when he saw the Doctor take off with two boys. He called to Will, who apparently didn't hear him before the explosion shook the building. He watched in horror as he saw Will stumble backward and fall back through the burning roof. He slid back down the ladder and charged through the flames toward the area below where he last saw his friend.

"Will!" he shouted, hoping to be heard over the roaring fire. "Markham! Where are you?" he called out as he ran. He almost stumbled over the edge of the floor and looked down to see the bearded man laying below him amidst the burning rubble.

"You can't make this easy, can you?" he chided his friend as he leapt down, hoping not to fall on the unmoving man or worse, knock burning debris on top of him, much less sending them through another floor.

He scrambled to Will's side and looked him over. His bloody leg had already been tied off and his face was dark with soot.

"Will? Can you hear me?" he pleaded.

Jack barely heard the slight groan, but felt it through the man's chest as he felt for a heartbeat. He smiled.

"Stay with me, buddy, I'll get us out of here in a second," he pleaded.

"Leave me," came Will's weak cough. "Save yourself."

"I'm not leaving without you," Jack replied as he adjusted his wristband.

"I'm done for," Will insisted as Jack grabbed his arm. "Go, save yourself, save the kids," he wheezed.

"Too late, I already saved your sorry ass," Jack boasted.

Will realized he was no longer breathing smoke. "W-Where?" he coughed.

Jack nodded up, indicating the large blue box they were now beside. "I teleported us to the TARDIS. Can you stand up? I can make sure you're alright once we're inside," he insisted.

"Just leave me to die, Jack," Will continued. "Don't wanna live wi'out Tosh, kids, anyway," he said, trailing off into unconsciousness.

"Will? Will, stay with me!" Jack prodded to no avail. He reached over and banged on the TARDIS. "Gwen! Rhys! I could use a little help out here!"

* * *

At the park, a crowd surrounded the trio emerging from the snow bank and the wreckage of the bicycle-balloon.

"I've had better landings," the burly ginger man said as he stood before helping the two boys to their feet. "They ever teach you about Leonardo, here?" he grinned. "Wings of a bat," he scoffed.

The boys were too stunned to answer, as they looked around in surprise that they had survived. Michael turned to their savior. "What about Will? I saw him fall in the roof?"

The Doctor looked back at the burning building they had just escaped from. "I-I'm sorry, kid. I truly am so very sorry."

Michael slumped to his knees. "No! I liked him! He could have taken us away from that place!" he protested.

Timon put an arm around his friend. "What he was telling us? Him and Gwyneth-?"

"Eh? What?" the Doctor asked, finally turning back to the pair. He didn't get to question them further as the girl and Frederic burst through the crowd to rejoin their friends. She hugged Thickie tight as they both cried.

A familiar voice to the Doctor suddenly called out. "Frederic!"

"Jackson?" he said, incredulous as the man stumbled his way through the crowd after his son. "There you are!" he said then noticed the Doctor. "Thank you, sir! Thank you for sending up the alarm and saving all these children!"

The Doctor looked back to the burning building. "I just hope everyone made it out," he said.

"Your friend, the one who said he knew me? Where is he?" Jackson asked, standing next to the larger man. "Where did he go?"

The Doctor continued to watch the fire. "Sacrifice."

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry," Jackson said, realizing what just happened. "I owe him my life and my son's. What can I do to repay his kindness?"

"Sir?" Gwyneth asked, holding two letters. "Thickie said Will gave these to him before-before they left him. This one has your name on it."

"What?" he asked as he opened the letter and began to read.

"_My name is Will Markham. I am a blood relative to two children in residence at St. Georges Orphanage, Londinium. The orphaned girl, Gwyneth, late of Cardiff, and the boy, Michael Elliot Watt. I hereby remand them into the care and custody of one Jackson Lake, provided he also take in their friend, one Timon Fitzhugh Campbell. It is my will that these youngsters are never alone. These are my final wishes. Signed, William Campbell Markham._"

"What is this?" Jackson asked. "Why is there blood on this paper?"

The Doctor took the paper and looked over it. "The blood is to prove his claim," he informed Lake, then looked to the girl. "This is what he was afraid of, wasn't it? Ensuring your history?"

The girl remained silent. She turned and looked back to Thickie, who was now being tended to by Rosita.

"Are you willing to do as he asked, Jackson?" he asked. "Are you willing to take in these three children as your own?"

"I-I suppose?" he stammered, daunted at the task. "But, I'll need help? Surely, I can't raise four children by myself, now, and with no place to call home?"

The Doctor looked up and smiled. "I think the help has just arrived," he said and nodded toward the newcomer. "How about it, Rosita? Would you like to be nanny to this lot?" Remembering a comment he had made when they first met in the future, he gave Jackson a nudge. "Perhaps more?"

"I don't know Mr. Smith?" she replied, looking Jackson over. "But, since it is the Solstice, they can stay with me until they make other accommodations," she suggested, smiling. "What are you going to do about a job?" she asked.

"Oh, that?" he laughed. "I was just hired on to the University," he assured her. "I'm sure they haven't replaced me quite yet!"

"Math department, wasn't it?" the Doctor inquired.

"Not just maths, but also mechanical design and engineering," he boasted. "How do you think I built my TARDIS, eh?" he pointed to the wreckage, which had now become a spectacle.

The Doctor smiled. "Why do I have the feeling that you had help with that?"

"Oh, that would be my benefactor," Lake confided. "He asked me to design a flying craft, and provided me with certain sketches and designs." He turned and pointed back to the wreckage. "I had just finished building this prototype and was about to begin testing it when-when-" he seemed to falter and fear crept into his voice. "Caroline," he whispered somberly.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Jackson," the Doctor consoled him. "Just remember, you still have a son, and now several more children who will need you. Make them happy and you'll make me happy."

"I-I'll try my best, Mr. Smith," he replied, tears in his eyes. "I'll try my best." He then glanced back to the paper. "What he said to me earlier? Will said I am never alone. He knew what was going to happen, didn't he?"

The Doctor glanced to Gwyneth. "Keep an eye on that one, Jackson," he cautioned. "She doesn't need to hide what she can do, but she needs to learn to control herself. See to it that she does."

"You make no sense, Mr. Smith."

The Doctor smiled. "You'll understand what I mean in time," he replied. "Oh, and be careful of Lord Crichton and someone called Greaves. They can't be trusted."

"Lord Crichton?"

"Yes, try and remember what he almost did to you," he cautioned. "But for now, I must take my leave of you." He called to the children. "Oi! You lot behave yourself for Mr. Lake and Rosita, you hear me?"

Will ran up to him. "Are you leaving? What about Will?" he cried.

The Doctor gave him a friendly smile. "Will has made arrangements that Mr. Lake take care of you from now on. Is that okay?"

He shrugged. "I-I guess? Thank you, Doctor, for everything."

The Time Lord leaned down and whispered. "Just don't make this a habit," he winked. "You be good, now, you hear me?"

"Will we ever see you again?" he pleaded.

He glanced to Gwyneth, who shook her head. "I don't think so, no. Although remember what Will said, he'll see you again in time," he winked. He turned to leave and began to stride off toward the burning orphanage and the alley beyond it.

"Doctor! Doctor, don't go!" Thickie called after him. "Don't go, Doctor!" he cried.

Jackson knelt beside him. "Don't talk like that, child! You shouldn't call that man such foul names after all he's done for us!"

"But that_ is_ his name!" he retorted, then called after the Time Lord again. "Doctor! Please don't go!"

Jackson looked on, aghast. How could someone be so kind and selfless, yet call himself something so foul? A memory tugged at him from another place, another time. He realized when the Doctor grabbed his head earlier, he had somehow shared a memory. The two had worked together, but when? How? This question would have to wait for another day, as he never expected to see the man again.

The Doctor ignored the boy's pleas, fighting a tear in his eye as he pushed through the crowd. He hoped Jackson would take care of the children as they would take care of him like Will planned. And that Crichton would be thwarted in his plans to use the man in his schemes.

When he returned to the orphanage, he saw that the fire brigade was slowly gaining the upper hand over the conflagration. He wondered if Markham managed to escape or-? No, he denied entertaining that thought. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and surreptitiously scanned the burning building for any further explosives. He didn't find any.

He checked with the fire brigade captain that no bodies had been found, yet, before leaving the scene to head back to the TARDIS. Upon entering, he found chaos.

"What do you mean, he's not here?" Jack exclaimed, tending to the wounded man on the floor.

"He's had medic training," Will wheezed. "He can help."

Gwen knelt down beside the man. "I'm sorry, but he left," she told him before explaining further. "We were laying around the pool, he grabbed his head and complained of an awful noise that neither Rhys and I could hear. He grabbed his clothes and left. We chased him to the control room, here, but the front door was open and the alley was empty when we checked."

"It's true," Rhys agreed, then turned to the Doctor. "And what about you? You let him be hurt this bad? What were you doing?" he demanded.

"Rhys!" Gwen hissed.

"I was busy saving children from a burning building," he growled. "In fact, I thought Mr. Markham here had fallen through the roof and perished as I did so!"

"He did, but you didn't see me come to his rescue," Jack admitted.

"Are they alright? The kids?" Will gasped.

The Doctor knelt beside him. "Yes, and Jackson will take them in, like you asked in your letter," he consoled the injured man. "Thickie's right torn up about losing you," he admitted.

"Kid's too stubborn for his own good," Will said. "Runs in the family, y'know?"

The Doctor smiled, "So I hear." He turned to Jack. "What can we do to help him?"

"Get him to a proper hospital and medical attention?" he suggested. "Or do you have a surgical wing in here?"

"No," he grunted. "I regenerate, I don't need hospitals. In fact, I almost died in one, one time-"

"Yeah, yeah, save the war stories for later," Jack told him. "Right now, Will needs proper medical attention."

"Don't let me die. Not here, not without Tosh," he begged.

"Well, there's always the Zero Room?" the Doctor offered. "It's not much, but it will help stabilize your injuries and heal your wounds," he explained.

Jack looked at him, stunned. "Why haven't you ever mentioned this before?"

The ginger shrugged. "Like I said, I never really needed it, have I? In fact, the only time I did was after a rough regeneration, where-"

"Save it for later!" Jack exclaimed. "Where is it?"

"Damned if I know," he replied. "The old girl moves room about at random for various reasons. Heck, she had to regenerate that room after I jettisoned it right when I needed it, didn't I?"

"Then how do we find it?" Rhys asked.

"I think I might be able to solve that problem," Gwen answered and ran off down a corridor.

"Oi! Where are you off to?" Rhys called after her.

"Nevermind that," Jack told him. "If we need to move him, we're going to need a stretcher. Got any long poles you aren't using, maybe some sheets or bedding?" he asked the Doctor. "Maybe a spare gurney?"

"Wait here," the Time Lord harrumphed and left the trio.

Will grabbed Jack's hand. "I mean it, Jack. Don't let me die here, not without seeing Tosh again."

Jack glanced to Rhys before answering. "You really do miss her, don't you? So do I. My Tosh, I mean."

"Yeah, but she's _my_ Tosh," he moaned, "my Queen of China."

Jack smiled and glanced up to Rhys, who shared the same expression. He didn't know Toshiko Sato as well as Jack or Gwen, but he knew she was a trusted member of their Torchwood family back home.

The Doctor came striding back in, two poles in one hand, a bed sheet in the other. "Here we go," he announced. "Rhys, help me tie this up," he asked.

No sooner had the pair begun making their makeshift litter than Gwen returned, accompanied by a friendly face. Sort of.

"Ha! K-9!" the Doctor laughed. "Where did you find him?"

"Greetings, Master," the robot dog replied.

"In the Library. He was guarding the aisles," she explained. "I figured he would know the TARDIS at least as well as you, so- here he is!" she laughed.

"Hello, old fella," Jack greeted him from the floor below.

"Great," Will mumbled. "I nearly get killed in a library, now I'm saved by the dog she found in one?" he smirked.

"Beggars can't be choosers, pal," Jack quipped as the Doctor and Rhys approached with their stretcher. "Come on, now, up and over," he urged as he helped shift the man over.

Will fought the pain running through his body as he was moved, but allowed a few grunts as they hoisted him up. He glanced up as they carried him down the halls. "Deja vu all over again, eh, Doctor?"

"Let's not make a habit of this," the Time Lord suggested with a smirk.

He gave a weak chuckle. "Oh, I think it's Jack's turn next, y'think?"

The Time Agent laughed as he held the back end, walking at Will's feet. "I hope not. In fact, the next time I see you like this, I might just-"

"Oi! No one wants to hear you flirt with a dying man, Jack!" Rhys exclaimed, then realized what he said. "Uh, sorry, didn't mean it, really," he apologized.

Will chuckled, then grimaced. "Are we there, yet?"

"Negative, Master," K-9 replied. "Zero Room is still .65 kilometers away."

"Oh, is that all?" the Doctor snarked.

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" Gwen suggested as she led the trio with K-9. "What are we going to do about Alonso going missing?"

"We can't chance staying here any longer than we have to," Jack suggested.

"So we're going to leave him behind?" Rhys asked him.

Jack looked to the Doctor. "Jack's right, we can't stay." the others started to protest before he continued. "Besides, we'll probably find him at our next stop, anyway."

"Where and when's that?" Jack asked.

The Doctor turned to him slightly. "The estate of one Sir Robert MacLeish, Jack."

"Excuse me?"

Gwen glanced back at them. "That name sounds familiar. Why is that?"

The Doctor gave her a grim smile. "We're going to the founding of Torchwood, Gwen."

* * *

**To Be Continued...**

Next: Teeth and Claws


	14. Teeth and Claws

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 14 - Teeth and Claws

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake/others, OCs

* * *

"How is Will doing?" the Doctor inquired as Jack entered the control room.

"Stable. Gwen's keeping an eye on him," he answered. "She does want to know why you had the tin dog guarding the Library, by the way."

The burly ginger shrugged as he adjusted a control. "I figured with you lot roaming about, I might need someone to guard certain areas. I asked him to monitor your activities, keep an eye on things," he replied, then glanced up to the Time Agent. "Keep nosy busybodies from finding out too much of their future."

"No spoilers, huh?"

"No spoilers," he grunted.

"You mean to tell me that in your 900-plus years, you have never encountered anyone who knew you before you met them?" he asked. "Wait, did I say that right?"

"Yes."

"Yes, did I say that right or yes, you have met someone who knew you before you knew them?"

"Yes."

Jack thought a moment. "You know, this conversation reminds me of someone I met back in the Time Agency. Quite the looker," he mused, then teased, "I'm sure you'd get along famously."

"Spoilers!"

"That's exactly what she'd say, in fact-" he stopped and looked at the Doctor again. "You know her, don't you?" he realized.

The Doctor winked.

"Oh, this is just perfect!" he exclaimed. "Come on, tell me what you know!"

"Spoilers!" he replied and moved to another panel as Jack moved closer to him.

"Come on, Doc! You gotta give me something, here!"

"No. I don't."

"Because...?" he goaded. "Oh, I get it, she knows you, but you barely know her, am I right?"

The Time Lord raised an eyebrow and gave him an annoyed look.

"I'm right, aren't I?" he boasted, crossing his arms in triumph and sitting on the console.

"Get off my control panel, Jack."

"At least tell me where you first met," he begged.

The man's expression went from annoyed to sad for a moment. "No."

"It wasn't a good first meeting, was it?"

The Time Lord paused a moment. "No," he said quietly.

"What happened?"

"The Vashta Nerada happened, Jack."

"The Vashta Nerada? The only time I've heard that name was when- oh. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he apologized. "I'm sorry, I never meant to-"

"We're here."

"What? At the Library?"

"No, Sir Robert MacLeish's Scottish estate."

"Torchwood?"

"Torchwood. Welcome home, Jack," he smirked.

"Do you really think you should go out there?"

"I've been here, before, what do I possibly have to worry about?"

"Oh, I don't know, Evil Old Me, a werewolf, bringing down the British- sorry, Albion Monarchy on your head?"

"I've already been here, before, Jack, I don't have anything to worry about except making Old Queen Vic mad at me and forming Torchwood," he explained.

"Are you sure it's still the same Queen Victoria you remember?" he asked.

"Of course, the monarchy remained virtually the same until Will and Charles' time," he explained. "I did a quick history search out first night here."

"Right before you jumped out a window and got captured by Evil Old Me, right," Jack reminded him.

"Just for that, you're staying here with Rhys and keeping an eye on Will," he declared.

"Wait, what about Gwen?"

"Rose was the first one to encounter the creature, so she'll be playing the part of Rose this adventure."

"Like hell she will!" Jack protested. "She's got a husband, not to mention a child at home! I won't let you abuse her like that!"

"Jack, if Rose managed to get through this while making jokes to the Queen about 'not being amused', then Gwen, with her police and Torchwood training, should be fine," he pointed out.

"Rose was the Bad Wolf, in case you've forgotten," Jack reminded him. "Gwen isn't, she-"

"She can take care of herself, thank you very much," she replied, cutting him off as she entered.

"Gwen, no!" Jack protested. "I won't let you endanger yourself!"

"Fine, then I'll tell Rhys all about- well, you know," she winked as she passed by him.

"Wait, about what?" Jack protested as the pair headed outside.

"Beans!" she hollered back as they exited.

"Beans?" he repeated, dumbfounded before realizing what she was talking about. "Wait, we weren't asking him to _join in _or anything, just-just forget it," he sighed as he slumped back into his usual spot on the couch after flicking on the external monitor again. "Just don't come crying to me when the Big Bad Wolf is more than you can handle," he grumbled to himself.

"So, where are we?" she asked, surveying the Scottish plain. The TARDIS had landed near what would pass for a road in this region.

"Slightly closer than when Rose and I were here, only about five miles out- oh, hello!" he started to explain before rounding the corner of the TARDIS and seeing several men on horseback surrounding a steam powered stretch car.

Gwen thought it looked like those old stretch cars that Royals and other dignitaries liked in the early 20th Century, only without steam pipes protruding from the engine compartment, as if they had been designed by the Rat Fink, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, himself.

"You will explain your presence," the Captain of the Guard demanded, pointing his pistol. "What business have you on this road?"

"Déjà vu all over again, eh?" he mused as he reached for his psychic paper. "Surgeon James McCrimmon, from the township of Bal Amory," he announced himself, falling into a Scots accent. "This is my apprentice nurse, Gwyneth Williams. I have my credentials if you'll allow me?" he motioned to his coat pocket.

The captain nodded and motioned for him to produce the papers.

"Cooper," she corrected as the Doctor handed over his wallet with the psychic paper. "Call me Gwen."

"Yes, she also has done some work as a cooper," he babbled. "Pigeons. Cocks. Can't get enough of them, can you Gwen?"

She evil-eyed him a moment. "Nope, love the birds, me," she lied. "The first moment we get alone, you are _so_ getting hit," she whispered.

"Who are they, Captain?" came a feminine voice from the carriage.

"Just a surgeon passing through, Mum," he called back.

"Let them approach," the voice ordered.

"I don't think that is wise, Mum," he cautioned.

"Let them approach," she repeated. "I would see this surgeon."

"You will show all due deference," Captain Reynolds ordered as he motioned them to approach as several of the guards trained their bayonets on them as a precaution.

"Wait 'til you get a load of this," the Doctor whispered to Gwen excitedly as the footman opened the door. "Greetings, your-" He stared at the passenger in confusion. "-your Majesty?"

"Very good manners, sir. Have we met?" he replied. The man occupying the carriage was middle aged, lean of face, and wearing a very expensive black dress. At first glance, any passerby would have mistaken him for a well-to-do Lady, not the King of Albion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was expecting someone...else?" he fumbled.

"I am King Victor. Who were you expecting?" he inquired.

"I-I'm sorry, your Majesty, I was just taken aback by your, um, handsome beauty," he lied. "Your portraits do not do you fair justice."

"So I am told. Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Master McCrimmon," he winked, then held out his hand. "May I see your credentials?"

He handed the psychic paper over, forcing a grin on his rubbery face as the wind blew his hair askew. It slightly unnerved the King as he glanced to the paper. "I find your hair and large ears very distracting, Master McCrimmon," he noted wryly.

"My apologies, your majesty," he replied with a hint of reverence and humor.

"He jokes he's half-elephant, he does," Gwen quipped.

Both men looked at her with similar expressions of disdain.

"right, sorry," she mumbled.

"May I ask, Sire, why did you not take a faster transport? Surely wherever your destination, a more swifter conveyance was available?"

"There was a tree that fell upon the train line," he explained in his high voice as he handed the psychic paper back to the Time Lord. "This was the only transport that could be commandeered on short notice."

"On your way to Balmoral, then? Perhaps Edinburgh?"

"What would you know of such things, McCrimmon?" he asked.

"Merely a guess, knowing that there are Royal residences at each," he offered. "It's perhaps a half day's drive to Balmoral?"

"Yes. Indeed," Victor replied, not quite sure whether to believe the stranger and his alleged apprentice. "I was headed to Balmoral, but it seems our journey will now take longer than expected," he noted. "We were just discussing where to stay for the night when we happened upon you lot," he explained.

"I believe there was a Lord's manor back the way we had just come from, a MacLeish?" he suggested.

Gwen stifled a laugh, now realizing the name and the danger they were there to stop. Another pair of nonplussed looks met her. "Sorry, sorry again," she apologized. "Something in my throat," she lied.

Victor pointed his fan at the Doctor with a smile. "I do believe you are correct, sir, but it is the estate of Lord MacIntosh, not MacLeish," he corrected.

"My apologies, your Highness," the Doctor nodded.

"You humor me, sir. Would you care to accompany me to the estate?" Victor offered.

"We wouldn't want to impose on your Majesty," he demurred with a smile. Gwen shot him a look of alarm before realizing he was using a bit of reverse psychology.

"I insist," he pressed. "Come, we may discuss many things tonight! There are stories of wolves in these parts!" he mused, eagerly.

"Surely, just superstitious local tales of timorous and feral beasties?" he suggested.

"A fanciful tale, indeed, intended to amuse the children into behaving, but good for the blood, I think," Victor countered. "I should know of timorous and feral beasties, I have raised five of them, myself," he winked. "Come along and we shall discuss such matters tonight."

"As you wish, your Highness," the Doctor agreed.

Victor turned to his captain. "Reynolds! Please give up one of your mounts for Master McCrimmon and his assistant!" He pointed to a younger guard. "That one will do. He can ride in the car with me," he ordered.

The guard looked slightly nervous, but also pleased to have caught the eye of his Sire as he dismounted and helped the burly ginger and slim brunette into his saddle as Victor ordered the procession to drive on.

"You do know how to ride, don't you?" Gwen whispered.

"Relax, we're just going a few miles, not barrel racing," he quipped as the entourage began moving once more. "Remind me to show you that picture of President Roosevelt and myself when we get done, here."

"What, Franklin or Teddy Roosevelt?" she hissed.

"Teddy. Who do you think talked him out of shooting that bear?" he winked. "Bully, I called him," he winked.

Gwen wasn't sure whether to believe him or not, so decided to change the subject to their current predicament. "So what happened to _Queen Victoria?_" she asked.

"Apparently, history here uses certain titles interchangeably with certain persons?" he offered. "Knowing that in this future, most have an open sexuality without consequence, it really shouldn't surprise us if there are other changes you wouldn't normally expect," he suggested.

"Really?"

"From what I read and what Will told me, the Puritans who left to establish colonies in the Americas were not a dissatisfied religious faction, but those who favored monogamy over the accepted polyamory of their European kin," he explained. "In fact, Charles was apparently monogamous and Greaves called him a 'Colonial' as an insult."

"So the European attitude that is too promiscuous for the Yanks back home-?"

"May apparently the norm for the American Colonies, here," the Doctor finished. "I don't plan on staying here long enough to find out, but I suspect more of, and I quote, 'Evil Old Jack's' manipulation of this world, I would wager. Try not to blow our cover with your narrow viewpoints, eh?" he teased.

"So if I let slip that I'm married?"

"Just say Rhys is okay with sharing you with me," he suggested, getting slapped on the shoulder in reply. "Even if it's not true!" he laughed.

"Oh, you are certainly going to get hurt by me before this is all over," she warned him.

He laughed. "Listen, there are a few details you need to know about when we get to MacIntosh's estate," he confided as they rode on, explaining what had happened with Rose and Queen Victoria in their world.

* * *

Robert MacIntosh looked out his observation window and saw the procession passing through. Not many came this way, nor had the money for such an expensive transport. Then he realized who was accompanying the limousine, the Royal Guard. Regardless of which Royal it was, he knew they would be stopping and asking board for the night. This was not good. Not tonight, at least.

He summoned the steward and informed the man to prepare the estate for important visitors. The bald man gave him a look of concern. "This could be considered treason," he noted.

"I am well aware of the situation," he replied, darkly. The steward nodded and then went about his orders.

A few minutes later, Robert went to greet his visitor. "Your Majesty," he acknowledged, bowing.

"Sir Robert," Victor replied, "I apologize for the inconvenience of my arrival on such short notice," he apologized. "And how is your Lady Isobel?"

"She's...indisposed, I'm afraid," he stammered. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season," he lied, before continuing, "and she's...taken the cook with her. The pantry is barely stocked. It's not often we entertain visitors, here, let alone offer much in the way of hospitality. I wouldn't blame your Majesty if he would rather ride on?"

The Doctor couldn't help but notice his nervous demeanor. The man's steward was not quite who he remembered, and with the change in gender of the monarch as well as Robert's last name, he had to wonder if the threat they were there to stop was the one they were expecting?

"Not at all," Victor demurred. "This is...charming, if quite rustic. I'm sure whatever your pantry has to offer will be quite enough for one night," he noted. "One can allow oneself to, as they say, 'rough it' once in a great while," he chuckled.

Sir Robert gave an amused, but nervous, nod.

"This is my first visit, but my late consort used to talk of this place quite often, this Torchwood Estate," he noted. "Now, shall we go proceed?" he urged.

Robert nodded and motioned the entourage inside his estate. The King leading the way as his footman retrieved a box from the limo. The Doctor and Gwen made note of it and exchanged concerned looks before following.

"Property of the Crown," Captain Reynolds warned, catching this exchange. "You will dismiss any thought of it," he cautioned before ordering his guard to take up positions around the estate.

None of the newcomers realized their arrival had been observed from the stable. The man inside turned and warned his charge, "Shhhh. Your time will come soon enough."

* * *

Back in the TARDIS' Zero Room, Rhys grew bored keeping an eye on the slumbering Will Markham. He was glad Gwen had left him the books she had taken from the Library earlier. The water safety volume was chucked aside as he tried to decide between the unmarked blue book and the one titled, "Journal of Impossible Things." He began flipping through the Journal when Markham began moaning.

"Are you alright?" Rhys asked reflexively.

"Doctor! Gwen! No!" he mumbled. This caught Rhys' attention.

"Gwen? What about her?" he prodded.

Markham's eyes opened. "You've got to save them!" he cried out. "Save them from-nggh" he doubled over in pain again.

Rhys fought with himself whether to tend to the man or run to the control room and warn his wife. It was no decision at all as he quickly ran out.

"No, stop," Will moaned. "You can't stop him! Alonso! No!"

* * *

Lord MacIntosh led his guests into a large study.

The King looked upon the large contraption with some admiration. "This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour?"

The Doctor stopped short and stared at the machine in amazement. It was not what he had been expecting at all.

"All my father's work, built by hand these last few years," Robert explained. "It became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I could have met him," the Doctor mused, glancing at the various parts of the machine. "May I, um-?"

"Help yourself," Robert replied, glad that someone could recognize what the device was.

"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked, looking over the keyboard.

"I know nothing about it, to be honest," Robert confessed. "Most of us thought him a little...well, say, eccentric."

The Doctor chuckled as Gwen leaned closer. "Is this what I think it is?" He turned to her with a quiet shush.

"I wish now that I'd spent more time with him, listened to his stories," Robert admitted. "He supposedly based this on a mechanical artifact found off the coast of Greece. Antikythera, I believe?"

"Really?" the Doctor replied, glancing to Gwen. "This looks like some sort of fanciful clock, to me." He looked to the model of the solar system nearby. "Or perhaps, something to track celestial movements?" he proffered, noting this model contained more than was commonly accepted at this point in time on Gwen's Earth.

"The imagination of it should be applauded," Victor noted. "Sir Robert's father was an example to us all, a polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally versed in folklore and fairytales."

"I like him more and more," the Doctor replied, finally turning away from the device.

"My late consort enjoyed his company," he sighed heavily, then turned to Robert. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

The Doctor noted the pronunciation of 'Al-bear', while taking advantage of his opening. "So what's this wolf, then?"

Robert suddenly became nervous. "It's just a story."

"Then tell it," the Doctor quietly demanded.

Robert started to say something, but his steward interrupted. "Forgive me, your majesty, but it is nearly dark. Perhaps you would like to retire to your rooms for the night after such a long journey?"

"Yes, to freshen up, perhaps, before some supper?" Victor inquired. "We shall dine at Seven, then talk some more of this wolf? After all, there is a full moon, tonight!" he said in ominous glee.

"So there is, Sire," Robert replied, bowing.

Victor led the way out as the rest followed, the Doctor staying only long enough to look at the device one last time. This was not any sort of telescope, but a primitive computer and radio. He had to wonder at it's true purpose.

When shown to her room, Gwen looked in the wardrobes for any sign of the frightened maid she had been warned about on the journey in. No one was there. She had already realized the device they had just been looking at was not what the Doctor had been expecting, either. The only thing they had left to expect now was this mysterious wolf.

* * *

"Jack!" Rhys shouted, bursting into the control room. "Jack! Gwen's in danger!"

Jack Harkness sat straight up. "Rhys? What?"

"Will!" he panted. "Will said they were in danger! We have to help them, Jack!"

"Rhys, calm down and tell me what he said," the immortal captain urged his friend. After he shared what little he knew, Jack almost had to tie him down to keep him from running out into the closing darkness. He couldn't let Rhys go out there alone, stumbling into who knows what, but told him he was willing to take that risk, himself, and asked him to go back and see if Markham knew anything else.

* * *

Gwen joined the other travelers in the dining room. "Sorry I'm late, I had a bit of trouble with the clothing," she apologized. "They were a bit too tight for me. Rhys thinks I still haven't lost all my baby weight," she sighed.

"Rhys?" Victor inquired.

"Oh, he's my husband," she replied, tossing a quick, panicked look to the Doctor. "He, um, stayed home to take care of our wee one," she explained, then adding with an annoyed look at her companion, "and the dog."

"A husband who stays home to raise a child while the wife learns a trade?" Reynolds inquired, slightly indignant. "That's nearly unheard of!"

"And yet, it does seem to happen more and more, these past few years," Victor acquiesced.

"Yes, Mum, very good, Mum," Reynolds laughed too loud. "Very progressive of you, and witty."

"Slightly witty, perhaps," the king admitted. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall try to contain my wit to spare you further injury." Reynolds gave a quiet and embarrassed acknowledgment.

"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert," The Doctor reminded their host. "Come, sir, you promised us a tale of nightmares!" he goaded.

The man was still nervous about something as Victor agreed, "Indeed, since my consort's death, I find myself with a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him?" Gwen inquired, now getting used to the gender-reversal and open relationships of this world.

Victor gave her a sad look of loss she had seen on too many faces before since joining the police force back home. "Very much," he admitted. "And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? The scares and chills, that's just for children, but the...hope of some contact with the Great Beyond, the Elysian Fields. We all want some message from that great place. It's Hades' greatest mystery that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait..." he said, then realized the whole room was too quiet and changed demeanors. "Come! Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air, the wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."

In the stable, the caretaker looked out the window toward the rising moon. He glanced back to his charge. "Soon," he cooed, "so very soon, it will be your time once more."

The sadness in his voice hid the hope that his misery would end soon, perhaps tonight, if he had his way. His benefactor had taken nearly everything away from him, yet still refused his one request.

"The original story goes back to ancient times," Robert began his tale, glancing to his steward. "Here, it's been only thirty years' time. Every full moon, the howling goes down the valley. The next morning, the livestock is found ripped apart. Devoured."

Reynolds gave a nervous chuckle. "Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves," he countered. "Steal the sheep, blame a wolf, simple as that." He ignored the look of admonishment from his liege.

"Sometimes, a child goes missing," Robert continued. "Once, a boy did vanish from his homestead."

Reynolds laughed. "Next you'll be blaming the Doctor!"

Gwen shot the Time Lord a concerned glance as she forced a chuckle. He remained stoic, but saw that Victor watched him with keen eyes.

"Are there descriptions of the creature?" the Time Lord inquired.

"Oh yes, Mr. McCrimmon," Robert replied. "Drawings, woodcarvings, caricatures, and it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

The Doctor gave his host an amused look. "A werewolf?"

"My father didn't treat it as a story," Robert countered. "He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, learned it's purpose." He paused as the steward strode to the window. "I should have listened. It's what was hinted, he made enemies."

The Doctor watched the bald man as he began a quiet chant.

Robert continued his tale. "There's a monastery in the glen of St. Georges. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations-"

"Perhaps they thought his work unholy?" Victor suggested.

"That's what I thought, but now I wonder," he admitted. "What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from the gods and worshipped the wolf?"

The Doctor turned toward the steward. "And what if they were with us, right now?"

* * *

In the stable, the caretaker threw open the outside door and stepped away, hiding in the shadows. "Gods preserve and forsake me," he whispered.

"Moonlight?" his charge said in fear upon seeing the lunar glow. He could feel the transformation beginning.

The caretaker felt the cold fear growing inside of him as screams of agony ripped from the changing form. He realized he had to end this, tonight, and ran from the cellar.

* * *

In the dining room, the voices began to rise, directed at their host, whose own voice was apologetic.

"What is the meaning of this?" Victor demanded as Reynolds drew his pistol.

"They've been here since the beginning," Robert exclaimed.

The steward stood, chanting. The Doctor tried to remember where they had seen the creature the first time, damning himself for not exposing the trap before night fell.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Gwen demanded.

"Watch your tongue, miss!" Reynolds yelled, pulling Victor behind him, blocking the others from seeing him. "What is this? What is it you want?" he demanded of the steward.

The Time Lord growled in aggravation before rushing into action. "Sir Robert, with me! Gwen, help protect the King!" he yelled as he ran from the room. "Remember what I told you!"

"What was he talking about, miss?" Reynolds asked, keeping the chanting steward in his gun sights.

"It's a trap!" she cried out. "This has all been a trap! The Doctor and I came here to protect the Queen!"

Before either could ask further, the steward turned away from the window and strode toward them.

"Don't move!" Reynolds warned him. The steward kept advancing. Reynolds hesitated as long as he could then fired. "Get his Majesty out of here!" he ordered Gwen.

The pair ran from the room as the sounds of struggle erupted behind them.

* * *

In the stable, the caretaker was now chanting as the anguished screams of his charge gave way to howling. The creature ran out into the dark grounds of the estate.

Sir Robert led the Doctor into the courtyard just as the beast entered from the opposite side. "That's still beautiful," the Time Lord said in wonder as the creature surveyed his surroundings and picked up their scent. He began approaching the pair. Only then did the Doctor remember he should be running away from it. "Right, back inside!" he ordered his host, before pushing him back in and locking the door behind them.

The beast began clawing and scratching at the other side almost immediately. It howled in aggravation at being denied access.

* * *

Gwen led Victor into another parlor. There was no other exit. She pulled him inside, quietly shutting the door behind them and pulled him to a corner as she looked around for a weapon to defend them. There was nothing on hand.

The door opened a minute later. Victor stood defiant. "I take it, sir, that you halted my train in order to bring me here?"

"We have waited so long for one of your trips to coincide with the full moon," the steward informed the king and Gwen as he approached them.

"Then you have waited in vain," Victor informed the bald man as he reached into his petticoats and withdrew a pistol, much to Gwen's surprise. "After six attempts on my life, I am hardly unprepared," he said and pointed the weapon at the steward.

He smiled. "Oh, I don't think so, old man."

Gwen could swear she saw smoke spew from Victor's ears. "The correct form of address is 'Your Majesty'," he corrected before pulling the trigger.

* * *

MacIntosh led the Doctor to the small magazine and handed him a rifle. "Oh, I don't use them," he deferred, looking back the way they had come from.

Another two men came running up from the opposite direction. "Here," Robert said, handing them each a rifle. "The creature is loose, and we will defend His Majesty to the death," he ordered. "Do you understand me, Lake?"

"As you wish," came the sullen reply of one newcomer, before he exclaimed, "Wait? Don't I know you?"

The Doctor glanced to the newcomer and did a double take. "_You_?"

"You've hardly changed, have you?" the gray-haired man asked in wonder. "In fact, you haven't changed at all?"

"Sorry, no time to chitchat, wild beastie on the prowl and all," he replied. "What are you doing here, Jackson?"

"Sorry to say, I'm the caretaker of this place, Mr. Smith," the elder Lake replied in awe.

"Mr. _Smith_?" MacIntosh repeated in confusion.

"What, including that thing out there?" he asked as the loud crash of the front door rattled down the hall. He looked down after it, then back to Jackson Lake.

"Smith! _No_!" Lake bellowed as the Time Lord ran toward the sound.

The Doctor stopped short as he came face to face with the creature again. It seemed to be looking for something, sniffing the air before seeing the burly ginger before him.

The pair locked eyes for a long moment before the creature snarled and began running toward him. The Doctor retreated back the way he had come and found himself facing three hunting rifles before he ducked out of their way, past the riflemen. They erupted a moment later as Robert, Jackson, and the farmhand fired.

The creature howled in pain and retreated back the way it had come.

"We have to retreat upstairs, come with me," the Doctor ordered. "You've injured it."

"I'll not retreat, the battle's done," the farmhand countered. "There's no creature on Earth that can survive that assault."

"I'm telling you-"

"I'm telling you, sir, that creature is dead," he announced. "I will have it's hide upon my wall." He walked back toward the hall, then turned and gave the three men a smug look of satisfaction. "He must have crawled away to die!" he exclaimed as a hairy arm reached down from the ceiling trusses and slashed his throat open.

"He didn't listen, he never listens," the Doctor groused as the farmhand gasped for air before falling to his knees and dying.

A growl came from the darkness overhead.

"Upstairs?" Jackson asked.

"Upstairs!" the Doctor ordered. "Run!"

The Doctor made his escape as his two companions each gave a last volley before following suit. He heard the creature howl in pain, then give chase a moment later.

* * *

Elsewhere, King Victor was retrieving his royal box from the safe with Gwen by his side when they heard Robert calling out, "Your Majesty? Your Majesty!"

"Up here, Sir Robert," he called out, heading out to the stairwell. "What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out," he informed her. "Captain Reynolds, where is he?"

"He gave your butler a fight," he replied. "Where are the rest of my guard?"

"I don't know, Mum, I haven't seen them all evening," he replied.

The Doctor and Jackson Lake caught up to the others. "The front door is no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, your Majesty, you'll have to climb out a window," the Time Lord informed them.

He held his chin high and headed into the front room. MacIntosh ran ahead, "Pardon my manners, Mum, but I should go first, to lend you an assist in your egress?"

Victor started a reply before the Doctor cut him off. "Any chance we could hurry this up, please?"

Robert turned, climbed into the ledge, and opened the window, only to be shot at. The group crouched to the floor in defense. "I reckon your guard were not for your protection, your Majesty," the Doctor noted, sparing a glance outside.

"Don't they know who I am?" Victor asked, obviously perturbed.

"That's why they want you, isn't it?" Gwen inquired. "They've lined you up for a...a biting."

"Stop this talk!" Victor ordered. "There can't be an actual wolf-!" His comment was cut short by the wolf howling from somewhere nearby. The group turned as one towards the door and ran back into the stairwell.

"What do we do now?" Gwen asked.

"We run," the Doctor informed her.

"What, is that all?" Jackson shouted.

"Have you got any silver bullets?" he inquired.

"Not on me, no!" Lake said.

"Well then, we run!" he repeated. "Your Majesty, I recommend a vigorous jog! Good for the health! Come on!" he said, grabbing his hand and heading upstairs.

Below them, they could hear the wolf break through the door and begin clawing it's way up the stairs after them. It finally caught up to them as they reached the top floor, only to have a wounded Captain Reynolds suddenly appear and shoot it as they ran past him and it closed in. The creature ran back in pain.

"I'll take this position and hold it," Reynolds informed his liege. "You keep moving for the gods' sake!" he ordered, then inquired, "Your Majesty, I went to the safe to look for the Property, but the chest was empty."

"I have it, it's safe," he assured his loyal guard.

"Then remove yourself, Mum," he said before turning to the Doctor. "Mr. McCrimmon, you stand as His Majesty's protector; and you, Sir Robert," he started, drawing his pistol on the man. "You're a traitor to the Crown."

"Not now! We have a bigger problem to deal with at the moment!" The Doctor exclaimed as he grabbed his arm and forced it down. "Your bullets can't stop it!" he informed the captain. "They never do!"

"They'll buy you time! Now run!" he ordered before turning back to look for the creature. The group retreated to the Library, Gwen holding back to watch as Reynolds made his last stand for his King and the rest of them. She had to admire that in him, she admitted to herself before the Doctor pulled her inside and sealed the door.

They heard numerous shots over the roaring, then screams. Victor held himself in a corner, as did Gwen, both trying to shut out the noise and fight the tears over the man's sacrifice.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Robert, and Jackson busied themselves barricading the door shut before the sounds outside fell silent. They listened for any trace of attack but none came.

The Doctor pressed his ear against the door and listened. He could hear the beast sniffing the door on the other side, but it made no attempt to attack, nor even claw at the wood. "It stopped. Now why is that, I wonder?" he asked, then licked the paneling and shook his head.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, wiping away her tears.

"Nothing?" he replied, confused. "There was nothing keeping him from attacking?"

"Didn't you say that last time-?" she began, but he cut her off.

"Mistletoe resin, but there's not even a hint of it here," he mused. "Nothing but regular oak?" He looked to Jackson. "Why is that? Why doesn't it come in here after us?"

"I-I don't know what you mean, Mr. Smith," he stammered.

"Smith? You said your name was McCrimmon?" Victor asked. "And I could swear she called you 'Doctor' earlier?"

"Doctor?" he chuckled. "Don't be silly! What's in a name, anyway? A rose is a rose and would smell just as sweet, eh?" He gave them an unusual look, a sad, reminiscent expression briefly flitted across his face.

"You didn't answer the question," Victor said. The Time Lord looked up and saw the king was directing his inquiry at Lake. "You are the caretaker, are you not? This creature was already on the premises, presumably under your care, was it not?"

The aged Lake had slumped in a chair, a worried expression on his face. He looked to the king and then to the Time Lord. Both had grave expressions on their faces.

"I'm sorry, Mum," he whimpered. "The children, he took the children away. He said he would hurt them if I didn't- if I didn't take care of his 'pet' every time the moon was full. This estate was where he kept all his secret projects," he explained.

"Children? What children?" Victor asked.

Gwen and the Doctor shared an alarmed look. "No. No, he wouldn't? Surely he didn't?" the Doctor demanded.

Jackson nodded. "He took them away. All of them," he sobbed.

"You don't think that's why Will-?" Gwen began to ask.

"Will? Will is here? You have him?" Jackson asked.

The Doctor approached his old friend. "He's safe, for now, but he's sick. We're not sure why," he tried to explain. "If Crichton has done something to the children, then-"

"Crichton? Lord Gerald Crichton?" Victor asked.

The Doctor turned to face him and saw Robert nervously fidgeting behind the king. "I presume you know him?"

"Yes, but not as well as some here do," he replied and turned to face the other member of the current party. "Isn't that right, Sir Robert?"

"I-I had no idea, that he-he-" he stammered. "My father can be a perverse man, sometimes!" he pleaded. "I have no idea what goes through his head!"

The Doctor and Gwen shared a dark look. "Greaves," they mouthed in unison.

There came a pounding at the door.

* * *

A/N:

obviously, I changed things up a little, including recasting (in my mind) Victoria as Victor and the Father/steward as Richard O'Brien, just for fun. Never really settled on who could play Victor, maybe Ian Holm or Robert Preston? (RIP Blake)

The steward is now the farmhand, and, as noted, is doomed to repeat his mistakes. I decided to drop Isobel/Flora/rest of the ladies' subplot from my story. Make up your own mind where they really are.

TBC-


	15. Truth and Consequences

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 15 - Truths and Consequences

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake, OCs

* * *

Jack caught his breath as he neared the estate. He had been here several times before on his own world, and was not surprised to see the building looking almost the same as he remembered it. The odd thing being the Royal Guard standing at attention, but facing inward, not out. Being only vaguely aware of what had transpired with the Doctor and Rose before, he was sure that the Doctor and Gwen were now playing out a similar scenario, but more likely in much more danger.

As expected, the guard turned their fire on him as he ran into the estate and made for the front entrance. He could swear as the darkness overwhelmed him that he heard gunfire from inside as well.

* * *

"Will? Will is here? You have him?" Jackson asked.

The Doctor approached his old friend. "He's safe, for now, but he's sick. We're not sure why," he tried to explain. "If Crichton has done something to the children, then-"

"Crichton? Lord Gerald Crichton?" Victor asked.

The Doctor turned to face him and saw Robert nervously fidgeting behind the king. "I presume you know him?"

"Yes, but not as well as some here do," he replied and turned to face the other member of the current party. "Isn't that right, Sir Robert?"

"I-I had no idea, that he-he-" he stammered. "My father can be a perverse man, sometimes!" he pleaded. "I have no idea what goes through his head!"

The Doctor and Gwen shared a dark look. "Greaves" they mouthed in unison.

There came a pounding at the door.

The quintet looked among each other in a panic.

"Captain Reynolds?" Robert offered.

"Doubtful," the Doctor replied. "What do we have to defend ourselves with in here?" he inquired.

"Gwen?" came a voice from the other side of the door. "Doctor?"

"Jack!" Gwen exclaimed and began unblocking the door. "Jack, is it really you?" she asked.

"What do you think you're doing, girl?" Victor demanded, stopping her.

"That's our friend out there!" she protested.

"What is out there is a feral beast who would tear us all into pieces!" he countered. "Get away from the door, girl!"

"I will not leave him out there-" she began, but was cut off by the Doctor.

"Gwen, wait a second, this may work to our advantage," he advised, then called to their friend. "Jack? Jack, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Doc. What's going on in there? Open up!"

"We can't, Jack. Not right now," he replied. "Is Captain Reynolds still out there?"

"Who? No one's out here, but there is a bloody stain, like someone drug a body out?" he explained.

The Doctor looked at the King. "Just as I feared. You haven't seen anything else unusual out there?" he inquired.

"Like what, the Royal Guard turning me into Swiss cheese?"

The three natives of Albion looked amongst themselves in surprise at this. Who were these people, they all wondered.

"Have you seen someone big, hairy, and snarling?" the Doctor asked.

"No, but he sounds delightful," Jack teased back. "Will just said you were in danger, I told Rhys I would come check on you and help out."

The Doctor and Gwen shared a confused expression. What did Will know that could help them? "What exactly did he say, Jack?"

"I don't know. Rhys said he was moaning, said you were in danger," he replied. "I figured better safe than-"

"Jack?"

"Uh, kinda busy, right now," he replied. "You said big, hairy and snarling, right?"

"Run, Jack! If that creature infects you-!" he warned as a loud snarl could be heard from out in the hall before something crashed into the other side of the door, knocking the Doctor away for a moment. "Jack?"

Harkness dove out of the way as the beast lunged at him. It slammed into the door and turned to face the newcomer. It began sniffing at him, seemingly hesitant to continue the attack.

"Easy there, easy boy," Jack soothed, trying to crawl away from the creature.

It began whining like a scolded puppy before laying it's head down between it's front paws on the floor and looking up at him expectantly.

Jack slowly rose to stand and stared at it in confusion. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," he continued, confused.

"Jack! Are you okay?" Gwen yelled from inside the room.

The creature turned and gave a half-snarl before facing Jack again and whining.

Jack was thoroughly confused as to what was going on. "I'm okay," he replied. "It seems to think I'm it's master or something?"

"Don't let it get too close!" the Doctor warned. "Get it upstairs to the observatory, if you can!"

"Yeah, easy for you to say," he muttered under his breath as he held out his hand to the beast. "You like me, is that it? You want to follow me, boy?" he asked.

The wolf sniffed at the outstretched hand, seeming to recognize the scent. He looked up at Jack's face, then growled.

"Yuh-oh." Jack took off running, hoping he was headed in the right direction. The wolf gave chase.

"Jack? Jack, what's going on?" Gwen called out to the now empty hallway. She gave a panicked look to the Doctor, who turned to their host.

"What's going on, Robert? Who is that beast when the full moon isn't out?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know," he replied.

The Doctor turned to Lake. "You said his father, MacIntosh, Crichton, whoever, he keeps all his secret projects here? What do you know?"

"Not much," he sighed and slumped into a chair. "After the fire at the Orphanage, Frederic and I moved in with Rosita and the other children. We eventually married, had our own children. One day, Crichton shows up and demands I come work for him, personally. He revealed to me he had been funding my research already, and wanted me to help him at this place," he explained.

"What were you working on, Jackson?"

"Some sort of machine, I don't know what it did," he replied. "There was also- His assistant kept falling ill every few weeks. I was never told why. Crichton then told me he had to leave for a while. He told me the truth about the man." He looked into the Time Lord's eyes. "I became the caretaker of that creature once a month, every time the full moon rose, he-" The words caught in his throat.

"The boy became a wolf, is that it?"

Jackson nodded. "Crichton was apparently attempting to cure him, somehow mixing his blood with chemicals. I don't know that he ever found the proper mix that he was looking for. There were days I thought he would bleed himself dry, but the blood loss barely bothered him."

The Doctor gave a knowing glance to Gwen. "Go on."

"There were other things, too," he admitted. "Some nights, I would wake up, there was this machine by my bed. Some sort of wire attached to my head. I would lose days at a time. It nearly drove me mad."

"And what of the children?" Gwen asked.

Jackson looked to Robert then back down to the floor. "He sent them away. The elder children to boarding schools and universities. He forbade Rosita from visiting me here. She eventually filed for divorce." his voice began cracking.

Robert stepped forward. "It's true. After I was born, I was sent away to school, joining his children with Rosita. We became good friends, but father still forbade us from coming home. It was only a few years ago before I understood why. The creature. It was for our own safety."

"Surely others must have known?" the Doctor asked, glancing to Victor. "You said your consort, Albert, he visited here, shared stories with Lord MacIntosh?"

"Lord MacIntosh was a courtesan and occasional tutor to my family," Victor offered. "I had forgotten until you mentioned Crichton earlier, I knew him as a child. He was one of my tutors, even then. He has hardly changed in the intervening years. Why is this, Mr. Smith, McCrimmon, or whatever you call yourself?"

"Because the man you know as Crichton or MacIntosh, is as much a falsity as, well," he shrugged, "any other name he has used on this world the last, oh, ten thousand years?"

"Ten thousand?" Victor repeated, astonished.

"Long story short? He's immortal, and he's been influencing this world for millennia," he confessed. "Go back and check your records and the records of any other royal dynasty, you'll find him. He was operating behind the scenes, but he's there."

"And how do you know this, Mr. Smith?" Robert asked.

"Because I'm the Doctor!" he announced. "He blames me for his curse, if not his present situation."

Victor glanced to Gwen before returning his gaze to the Time Lord. "We are not amused. The Doctor is a myth, intended to scare children into behaving."

"As much as I'd love to argue my existence, your Majesty, I am very real and the only hope of you surviving this attempt on your life!" he exclaimed. He had to bite his tongue on how easy it was to get this version of Victoria to say those words, but it didn't matter at the moment because he doubted he would ever see Rose again, not to mention the problem of the werewolf chasing Jack before coming back for them. He drew himself up before continuing. "Now, we have to get out of here and elude that creature before it can kill our friend out there, much less everyone inside here!"

"What do you propose we do then, Doctor?" Victor challenged.

"Show me what you've been secreting around, you Highness," he demanded.

Victor gave an arrogant harrumph before finally producing the box he had retrieved earlier.

The Doctor opened it, raised his eyebrows and glanced to Gwen, smiling. "Jackson, I need all of the files you have that Crichton wrote on that beast! Robert, I need the files and diagrams on that machine, upstairs!"

"They're all right here, Mister, erm, Doctor," Jackson replied. "We're in his library."

The Doctor looked around. "Of course. It always comes back to a Library, doesn't it?" he mused.

Gwen had already gone to the shelves. "What are we looking for?"

"Anything and everything on that poor boy, what he tried to help him, and whatever you can find on that machine!" he ordered the others.

The quartet began poring over the shelves, pulling seemingly random books and laying them out on the table for the Doctor as Victor looked on.

He was showing Gwen a crude instruction manual when the king finally spoke up. "What of your friend, Doctor? Are you not concerned for his safety?"

Gwen gave him a concerned look as he turned to the man. "Of course I am, but I also know Jack can fend for himself. He's gotten out of worse situations than this, I can assure you. Right, Gwen?"

"A werewolf could certainly give our Weevils back home a decent fight," she added.

"Eh? Weevils? In Cardiff?" he asked.

"He never told you?"

The Time Lord's face grew dark. "No. No, he did not."

No one happened to notice Jackson stretching behind them, rubbing his aching neck as he looked up, only to freeze. "Doctor?"

"Not now, Jackson," he snapped. "Weevils, really?"

"Doctor?"

The Time Lord sighed. "What is it, Jackson?" he asked turning and seeing the man staring upwards.

He pointed as the others turned their attention to the ceiling, or rather, the skylight in the ceiling, where a large, furry mass could be seen prowling in the moonlight. It stepped onto the glass, testing his weight.

"Run," the Doctor ordered. "RUN!"

The group began to scatter and unbar the door as the glass gave way, sending shards and werewolf plummeting down. Gwen and Robert hustled the king out of the way as the Doctor and Jackson unbarred their exit. They barely managed to shut the doors again as the creature slammed into them from the other side.

"Go!" the time Lord ordered. "Get up to the Observatory!"

"What about you?" Robert asked.

"Get upstairs, start the machine, protect your king, Robert!" he ordered as the beast slammed into the doors again. "And take this! Gwen will know what to do!" he said, tossing him the King's treasure.

Robert looked at it confused, then nodded and did as he was told.

The Doctor held his body against the door as it shuddered again. He silently wondered how long he could last against the creature when he felt another presence at his side. He opened his eyes and smiled. "Where the heck have you been?"

Jack smirked. "Oh, you know, here and there, running from a large, hairy beast who wants to eat me," he winked.

"So the usual, then?"

"You know I wouldn't have it any other way," he smirked.

**Thoom!** The door shuddered again.

"What happened out here, earlier?"

"It sniffed me, like it recognized me or something?" he explained. "Then he chased me for a few minutes before I thought I lost him, so I doubled back only to find you lot running out of here."

**Thoom!**

"I think there's a reason for that, Jack," the Doctor grunted as the door shook again.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"It's Greaves, or Crichton, MacIntosh, whatever you want to call him. He's been working on this kid, this werewolf, here for some time, now."

"Doing what?"

"Jackson said he was experimenting on it with his blood," he said. "He wasn't sure what was going on, but he eventually gave up. He turned his experiments on Jackson."

"Jackson Lake? He's here?"

"That gray-haired man with Robert, Gwen, and King Victor," he confirmed.

"It can't be him. He's...old?"

"Greaves admitted to Charles and I he somehow kept Jackson young, wiped his memory every so often, then would reintroduce him as a descendant," he explained. "What if we've encountered Jackson before he falls prey to that?"

"Can we stop him? Should we?" he asked, afraid to answer that himself.

The Doctor didn't answer, either. He stood up straight, stepping away from the door.

"Uh, Doc? Why isn't the door shaking anymore?"

The pair ran for the Observatory.

"What took you so long?" Gwen exclaimed as they ran in. She stood at the control panel to the machine and tossed something to Jack as he ran in.

"Is this-?"

"Who else would it belong to?" the Doctor answered.

"I didn't know how to program it, sorry," Gwen told them.

"But where should I set it for?" he asked, noticing dust falling around him. He looked up and saw the creature prowling this skylight, now. The full moon directly overhead. "oh. right."

"Everybody, get back!" the Doctor ordered as the creature fell through the glass again. Jackson and Robert pulled Victor to the corner of the room, shielding the king from the beast with their bodies. The pair had picked up a pair of swords from a wall display hanging on their way. They knew this could well be their last stand. Gwen crouched behind the machine controls.

The wolf searched the room, taking in every moving thing before focusing on Jack once more. It lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. The device Gwen had tossed him skittered away, stopping near Jackson's feet.

As the creature loomed over Jack, it seemed to hesitate. That moment was all the Doctor needed as he shoved a coat rack into it's side. The wolf howled and snapped at the Time Lord, before knocking the wooden pole away.

Robert rushed it, swinging his sword, cutting it's right flank. The beast howled again and lunged, knocking the man down. It seemed it was about to bite the man's throat when a shot rang out, wounding the creature.

Victor stood defiant behind Jackson, pistol smoking as Lake braced for an attack. The wolf began moving in their direction when Jack yelled out "NO!" causing it to hesitate and turn to him once more.

Jackson pressed his advantage and attacked, driving his sword deep into the creature's side, hoping he struck the heart and ending this madness. The beast howled in pain and backhanded him away, throwing him into a wall.

The wolf seemed to shudder and fell to the floor. It slowly began to shrink, changing form as it did so. In a matter of moments, Alonso Frame lay naked on the floor, bleeding out from the sword in his chest. He reached out to Jack.

"S-sorry, I'm sorr-"

Jack went to him and hugged him tight. He could feel the boy go limp. He briefly wondered how he had managed to stay so young in the thirty year span since he left them in Londinium when they last met Jackson. He looked up to the Doctor, who bore a sorrowful expression as he handed Jack the king's device.

"You know what you have to do, Jack," the Time Lord intoned.

Tears fell from Jack's eyes as he took the strap, an ancient duplicate of his own, punched in the coordinates and placed it on Alonso's arm. When he pressed the last button, both disappeared in a flash.

"Doctor?" Gwen asked.

"He'll be back, don't worry," he assured her.

"What madness is this?" Victor demanded, helping Robert to his feet. The Doctor noticed he seemed to be bleeding as he hugged his wounded arm to himself.

Another flash of light and a dirty, panting Jack rejoined them. "It's done. He's at peace, now," was all he said before motioning Gwen to help him check on Jackson.

"I do believe we just resolved a threat against your life, your Highness," the Doctor reminded the man. "And, need I remind you, you still have several traitorous guards to deal with outside?"

Victor fumed, then turned to his host. "Sir Robert? Are you well enough to defend your estate?"

"Tis a minor wound, sire," he lied. "I'll defend my home and your life with mine, if necessary."

"Mr. Lake? How do you fare?" Lake groaned in agony.

Gwen answered for him. "He appears to have several cracked, if not broken, ribs, possibly a concussion, among other injuries from being thrown. I don't think he'll be good in a hand to hand situation."

"And what of you three, Doctor?"

The Time Lord was now surveying the radio transmitter controls. "I have a better idea, your highness," he said. "I just need a little help tearing this apart. Jack?"

"Just a minute," he replied, helping Jackson to a divan in the corner. "Try not to move, okay?" he advised his friend.

Within an hour, the time travelers had taken apart the radio prototype and fashioned a crude bullhorn from the parts. The Doctor handed the king the microphone. "I would offer them a chance to surrender, first," he suggested. "Press this before you speak," he motioned as he stepped back.

Victor took the device and cleared his throat. The noise reverberated into the courtyard below the window where they had set the equipment up. The Royal Guards jumped in surprise.

"Those who have betrayed their King shall be given one chance to lay down their arms and surrender," Victor proclaimed. "If you refuse, you shall be summarily arrested and held for trial, for which there is but one punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

The guards looked around in confusion, trying to figure out how the man was projecting his voice so loud.

"I said, am I clear?" he repeated.

Several of the guards had seen the window from which they were broadcasting and turned their weapons on it. "I said stand down!" the king ordered again.

"Let me see that," the Doctor said, taking back the microphone. "Cover your ears," he advised as he held his sonic screwdriver to the device. The next moment, the guards dropped their weapons in agony, unable to stand the feedback tearing through their skulls.

He handed back the microphone to the king. "You see? No need to shed any more blood today," he enthused.

Victor scowled at the Time Lord. "Sir Robert? Attend to those men with chains with the other two. I would have words with this man. Alone."

Robert nodded and motioned to Gwen and Jack to follow. Victor never took his eyes off the Doctor.

"While I am indeed grateful to you and your friends for the assistance you have leant to me and my kingdom, today, Doctor, or whatever your name may be. You have no right in telling me how I may treat my subjects."

"I know what is right and what is decent, your majesty," he replied. "Whatever lies have been spread about me in this world will never change that."

"I only have your word that you are this myth made real, that you are not evil incarnate."

The Doctor held his silence.

"My dynasty shall not be swayed by your actions today, tomorrow, or ever, am I understood?"

"Dynasties fall, and I hope you understand that true devils often speak with honeyed tongues, offering the heart's desire. I know what will become of your line, Victor, and for that, I am sorry."

"Was that a threat, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced to the sleeping Jackson Lake. "There will come a time when your dynasty will fall. A new champion chosen to fulfill a destiny he does not want. Someone whose Will shall uphold the honor of this land while betraying those closest to him. The Ginger King will take the Crown, bringing an Apocalypse with him. Your next action will set this into motion, including the betrayal by someone close to him. Closer than you realize, Victor," he warned. "I have already seen it happen."

"I want you and your friends away from here, Doctor. I hereby banish the three of you from this land, my kingdom."

"So be it. I didn't ask to come here, but it seems I have my own destiny to fulfill. Don't forget what I have told you here, today, Victor," he cautioned. "That time is closer than you think."

"Don't worry, I shall warn my progeny of you and yours, Doctor," he promised.

The Doctor gave a soft laugh. "I know." He turned and left the king with his wounded friend, hoping that his destiny could be avoided, but afraid it was meant to be.

Upon reaching the courtyard, he approached Jack as he made sure the chains binding the guards were tight. "Are you about done? We've been asked to leave."

"Yeah, but surely, we're not gonna walk back to the TARDIS, are we?" he asked, motioning Gwen over.

"Nothing like a good stroll, unless you would prefer a brisk jog?" he winked and headed for the gates of the estate. Jack and Gwen gave each other an amused smirk as she placed her arm in his and followed.

As they entered the TARDIS, none of the party happened to notice a figure on horseback approaching at a gallop. The TARDIS disappeared before he could reach it.

The grey-haired man scowled before resuming his journey.

No sooner had he entered the Torchwood Estate than he demanded of the bound guards, "What has happened here? Where is my son? Where is Lake?"

"Our apologies, my Lord, we have failed in the task you have set before us," one of the men replied.

"You know the price for failure," the man replied and pulled out his pistol, firing, and striking the guard between the eyes. The others started to panic, but their chains kept them from scattering. By the time there were only two left, Sir Robert emerged from the building.

"What's going on out here?" he demanded, then stopped short upon seeing who was causing the ruckus. "No," he whispered under his breath.

Lord MacIntosh leveled his weapon at his son. "What happened here? Tell me or you will share the same fate as these men."

Robert stood defiant. "These men were part of a plot to assassinate the king," he explained before continuing. "Along with your pet, my lord," he said with disdain. "King Victor yet lives, as do myself and Jackson Lake. The rest of the staff have shared the same fate as your guards, it seems."

The immortal held his weapon steady. "Who else was here?"

"No one," he lied before adding, "father."

"Do not take that tone with me, boy," he warned. "The man in the blue box, who was with him?"

Robert scowled. He realized it had not been that long since the Doctor and his companions left. His father had seen them but had been unable to approach them before they got away, by whatever means of transport they had. The legend of the Doctor and his Blue Box was apparently true, he realized if his father was now acknowledging it.

"It was the Doctor, wasn't it?" he demanded of his son. "Who was with him? The fat man? Gwen? Who?"

"I know not of whom you speak, father. We have only survived due to luck and sacrifice by-"

"-the assistance of the Doctor?"

"We have killed your pet wolf-changeling, father," he declared defiantly.

"Alonso is dead?" Lord MacIntosh fired, hitting his son in his shoulder. "The next one goes between your eyes, boy."

Sir Robert fought the urge to scream in pain as his shoulder burned. He had dropped to his knees, but now forced himself to stand against his father, once more.

"Jackson and I defended the King-" He stopped short as he felt the still-warm muzzle of his father's gun press into his forehead. "The King lives and has decreed-"

MacIntosh's finger began to squeeze when a brusque feminine voice stopped him short.

"If you kill your son, you shall surely follow him," Victor warned, pointing his own pistol at the immortal.

"You live only by my mercy, O King," MacIntosh warned. "I have not finished grooming your replacement, quite yet."

"Do not test me, Lord Crichton."

MacIntosh glared at the king, yet lowered his weapon from his son's head.

Victor gave him a disgusted look. "I grow weary of these weapons. I believe I shall decree that no firearm shall be used outside of wartime nor shall they be crafted this small." He tossed his weapon to the ground then looked to the immortal once more, almost daring him to continue his murdering. "This includes your personal armory. Do you find this to be a good idea?"

MacIntosh smiled. "I find sense in your reasoning, my king. However, you will make outlaws of many. Hunters, farmers, to be certain."

"Then we shall ask that they use other means to hunt," he decided. "What of a return to the bow and arrow? Perhaps the crossbow shall be the only exception?"

"As you wish, my king."

Victor was neither fooled nor amused by his condescension.

"Do not toy with me, sir. I have been witness to events this night that I have no intention of repeating. This is what will happen, now: I have no more taste for flights of fancy, phantasmagoria, or the nonsense of myths, ancient or new. What secrets this house has borne witness to shall remain secret. However, they shall not go ignored."

"How do you mean, my king?" he asked, derision dripping from every word.

"I propose an Institute for the research you have begun here," he said simply. "However, such secrets will have need of trusted guardians, as do I now, apparently," he declared, surveying the gruesome massacre before them.

"And what would you call this Institute?" he goaded.

Victor glanced over his shoulder to the plaque naming the estate. "Torchwood. Their decree shall be two-fold: their service to me and mine, exclusively, and the investigation into what you have begun here. I shall have a Royal Charter drawn up as soon as we return to Londinium."

The immortal smiled. "As you wish, O King."

King Victor scowled at this man, who he had known since he was a boy, yet remained the same since those days, long ago. He knew now that this defender of his life, this Doctor, had spoken truth, yet legend and myth had held sway over him being pure evil all these ages. Had he also spoken true of the nature of this man before him...and what lay in store for his lineage, his empire?

"You know of healing, do you not?" Victor asked. Lord MacIntosh nodded. "Very well, tend to your son's injuries and those of Jackson Lake."

"Lake is wounded?"

"I am told broken ribs and a-what did she say? A concussion?" he replied.

The immortal remembered that the Doctor had placed some interest in Lake thirty years ago. That was the main reason he had rendered the man's services, in case the meddling Time Lord ever returned to visit the man again. That time, he realized, had just come to pass. He decided the next step in the man's 'therapy' was now ready to be put to the test: a full transfusion of his own immortal blood. He was quite curious as to what the effects would be on an apparent 'normal' human.

Lord MacIntosh pulled his son to his feet and shoved him towards the door. "Come with me boy, I have need of your assistance." He smiled darkly as his son grimaced from his injuries and, in part, fear of what his father now had planned.

* * *

As the Doctor, Gwen, and Jack entered the TARDIS, Rhys immediately stood up from the couch and ran to his wife, hugging and kissing her, thanking the others for her safe return.

"Where is Will Markham?" the Doctor asked as he dematerialized the TARDIS.

"Uh, I guess still in the, uh, whadyacallit?" Rhys stammered, still distracted by the fact his wife was safe.

"The Zero Room?" the Time Lord reminded him as Rhys nodded. He gave Jack a stern look as he turned to leave. "Don't touch _anything_!"

When he entered the Zero Room, the Doctor found Will awake, sitting up and reading a familiar blue journal. "Where did you get that?" he demanded, snatching it away and snapping it shut.

Will gave him an annoyed look. "Fine, thanks, and you?" he replied. "It was sitting here when I woke up. I'm not sure where I am, but I figured I better wait for you to come tell me so I didn't get lost out there," he said, waving a hand towards the labyrinthine hallway.

"You had Rhys send Jack out after us, why?"

"I did?" he replied, confused. "I don't remember it?"

The Time Lord bristled.

"Seriously, I have no idea where I am in your craft, let alone how long I've been here!" he exclaimed. "What did I miss?"

"What did you know of Alonso? You didn't want him along, and now he's dead."

Markham paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't know the full story."

"You mean he was like that before he came along? Why didn't you say something?"

"I only knew he was a double agent, working for Charles," he explained. "There was some accident a while back in Scotland, I never knew the full details," he continued. "I just didn't get good vibes from the guy, you know? Something wasn't right about him."

"He was a _werewolf_!" the Doctor shouted. "You never knew that?"

Markham's face went white. "No. I am sorry, Doctor, I didn't. Is everyone alright?"

"Your King Victor still lives, as does Jackson," the Doctor admitted. "He was asking after you, by the way."

Will's face grew dark. "Is he okay?"

"Injured, but he'll live." He stopped short, as if realizing something. "This is where it happens, isn't it?"

Will nodded. "I only just found out the truth. There was a public story about the founding of Torchwood, but I always knew there was more to it than that."

The Doctor eyed him suspiciously. "You 'only just found out the truth'? From who?"

"Sarah Jane Smith," he admitted. "She approached me at the Coronation, handed me a PAD with instructions on what to do."

"Sarah Jane? How did she know what would happen?"

"I have no idea," he shook his head.

The Doctor sighed and slumped down to the floor against the wall, eye to eye with Markham. He held up the journal. "What did you learn from this?"

Will eyed it, then looked back to the Doctor. "She left me a message in there."

"Who did?"

Markham almost laughed. "You have to ask?"

"You've met River Song?"

He pointed to the book. "Not yet."

The Time Lord eyed the man warily. "Who are you, Will Markham?"

Will gave a heavy sigh and looked away. "I wish I knew. I was content with my life, my wife, my family, before I met you, Doctor," he admitted. "Now? I know things I shouldn't and find out my whole world is based on a lie."

He looked back to the Time Lord. "And the real fun part hasn't even started yet."

"What are you talking about?" he started to ask, before holding up his hand. "Do I even want to know?"

"This is a world you never affected until a few days ago, relatively speaking, Doctor. Yet, you are already ingrained as a legend, and you have at least one more task to perform."

The Doctor eyed him cautiously. "How could the ultimate prison exist here when none of my enemies have been here to build it?"

Markham nodded. "How else to explain the existence of one of my world's ultimate mysteries? No one knows where it came from or who built it. The Pandorica has enough legends around it to rival even you."

The Time Lord nodded, realizing their next task. "And this world's Jack- Greaves, Crichton, MacIntosh- he never knew about it before he was sent here, did he?" he asked himself.

"Apparently not," Markham agreed.

"Our Jack knows nothing about it, either, and it stays that way, do you understand me?" the Doctor ordered.

Will nodded his assent. "So, when do we start building this thing?"

"I assume you have all the scans and design specs your people have taken of it?"

"I've got them in my duffel I brought with me," he nodded. "I take it that it's just up to you and me to build it?"

"I hope you're feeling up to the task and brought some tools with you," the Time Lord chuckled.

Will laughed along with the man, but he also knew the other item he brought along would come into play, as well. It's legacy was known on both worlds, yet only on this world was it a known reality.

The other task that awaited him was not one he was looking forward to. The journal's author, 'River Song', insisted it must be done, but Will now questioned her motivations and whether he could ever truly betray his new friends like that after all they had done for him.

After all, was the death of one man really worth the cost of saving a universe and future he didn't even know? He had already cost the Doctor one Regeneration on accident, but it was apparently fated to happen. Could he end the man's life once and for all?

He could only hope this 'River' was not telling the whole truth and he could spare the Doctor's life, even at the cost of his own.

The Doctor helped Will to his feet and began leading him back to the control room, the Time Lord slapped him on the back as they walked, warning him about knowing too much of his future from this diary, especially. Will found himself lapsing into another coughing fit at the blow.

The Doctor inquired to the state of his health as Will now silently feared his illness would keep him from completing their joint task, but hoped it would kill him before he would be forced to kill his friend.

* * *

NEXT: Downtime

TBC-


	16. Downtime

Doctor Who: ALBION - Stitches In Time

Chapter 16 - Downtime

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake, OCs

* * *

The Doctor led Will Markham into his temporary quarters to rest. His coughing fit left him slightly short of breath, but he insisted he would be fine with some rest. The Time Lord reluctantly left him to rest and returned to the control room.

"I'm only going to ask this once," he announced, surprising the couple with his entrance and getting a curious look from Jack Harkness. "Who was in my Library?" he asked as he held up the blue journal.

Jack glanced to the couple as a nervous Gwen slowly raised her hand. "That would be me, sir."

He glared at her, causing Rhys to shift forward defensively.

"Why did you take this book?" he demanded.

"I didn't. At least intentionally, that is," she admitted.

He continued to glare at her.

"I was bored and wanted to read something by the pool," she confessed. "Your tin dog blocked me from certain areas in the library, so I just grabbed a pair of books at random. I didn't even know what they were about. I didn't even get a chance to read much of the other one. Honest."

He knew she was too nervous to lie, so switched his glare to Rhys. "Markham said he got this from you?"

He cast his own nervous glance to his wife. "Aye?" he admitted before continuing. "I was getting bored sitting with him, so I went to get the books she had brought to the pool?"

"Did either of you read it?"

They shared a confused look and shook their heads. "No, just part of that other book, the Journal of something?" she admitted. Rhys nodded in agreement.

He shot Jack a dirty look. "What about you?"

Jack shook his head. "I haven't read anything."

The Doctor fumed. "Next time, _ask_," he warned. "As far as the lot of you are concerned, you are on probation. Markham and I have another matter to attend to, and unfortunately, it will take some time to accomplish," he informed them.

"Do you need any help?" Jack offered.

"Not from you," he replied before turning to leave the control room. "Consider yourselves confined to your rooms and the pool area."

"Um, excuse me? When and where do we eat?" Rhys asked.

"Ask Jack, he'll show you the galley," the Time Lord said as he left the trio alone.

Looking amongst each other in confusion as to what just happened, Rhys finally mockingly accused Jack, "I blame you for this."

Jack smirked and nodded.

The next few days found the quintet falling into a routine. The Doctor and Will would leave the other three to work on their "secret project", leaving the couple to finally relax and enjoy their anniversary vacation that Jack had promised with this journey.

Jack, for his part, kept mostly to himself, leaving Gwen and Rhys their privacy while trying to pry a hint out of Will whenever he could find him away from the Time Lord. Markham ignored Jack's attempts, but humored him in other ways.

One evening after Will had taken a break from working with the Doctor, he met Jack at the pool. "What do you think we're doing Jack?" he inquired when the man pestered him once more.

"I'm not entirely sure, but if the Doctor decides it's important-"

"I asked what _you_ thought, Jack," he scolded as he swam up to the leaner man. "The Doctor and I know what we have to do."

Jack regarded him a moment. "You two really are up to something, aren't you? Something big."

Will pulled Jack close. "The fate of my world depends on it," he admitted. "I will tell you, keeping you away from it is part of it, just in case."

"You want to play 'Keep Away' from me?" Jack smirked, grabbing Will closer.

"I'm a married man, Jack," he mock protested before kissing Harkness.

"That's never stopped me, or you, before," Jack laughed, finally breaking the kiss.

"How about stopping me from this?" Will asked and proceeded to dive under the water for a minute. Jack had no complaints until the man's need for oxygen overdrove their mutual lust. Will gasped for air, then smiled at Jack, "Your turn."

Jack dove under and returned the favor for several minutes before he realized the darkened room had lit up. He brushed Will's hands off his head and came up to find the Time Lord staring sternly at the pair.

"Sorry," Jack apologized, smirking.

The Doctor didn't seem too amused by their obvious antics. "You better be, Jack," he chided. "I was just stopping by to tell Will something. Be sure to clean up after yourselves." He then turned and began to leave the room.

"You can join us in here if you want," Jack called after him.

The Time Lord stopped and turned to look between the two men. "No thank you, Jack. I'll leave you two to yourselves."

Jack laughed. "No! I didn't mean like that!" he corrected. "I meant, it's your pool and you haven't taken any breaks for yourself. If you wanted a swim, we won't mind."

The Doctor's lip gave a slight smirk. "You'd like that too much, Jack," he teased before turning and leaving the room.

Will raised an eyebrow at his companion. "Oh well. I had to try," Jack replied with a smirk before dropping back down into the water once more.

Will locked his fingers over Jack's submerged head as he looked back to where the Time Lord had disappeared. He almost felt bad at what he knew he would have to do to these two, next. He hoped they would understand as he ordered the pool room's holo-displays to return to their previous setting the Doctor had turned off.

Will always enjoyed a bit of fun on the beach at sunset, and settled into concentrating on doing just that with Jack. His mind wandered back to Tosh, though. He wondered if she missed him, yet? He also wondered if she could understand why he had to leave her behind.

After almost two weeks, their project was nearly complete. The two men stood back and admired their handiwork. "Not quite like I remember it," Will noted.

"Of course, not, this is brand new," the Doctor reminded the other man. "The Box you remember was ancient."

Will grunted in acknowledgement.

"Something bothering you, Will?"

"The others are getting restless. They keep bugging me how long before you take them home."

"You mean Jack's bugging you?" he asked, glancing over the programming console.

Will winked slyly. "Yes, but also Gwen and Rhys. They want to get home to their kid, and I can't blame them. I miss my family, too."

"Will," the Doctor intoned gravely. "You do know every trip further back we take means we may have changed things in your present, as you know it, right?"

"I know my history, Doctor," he admitted. "We're not just trying to save my world, we're also creating it."

The Doctor nodded. "I know that, but do you understand what I said? One tiny thing changes in your past, no matter how minor, and you no longer have a family to go home to."

"I am well aware of the consequences of my actions, Doctor," he said, a sadness entering his voice.

"What aren't you telling me, Markham?" the Time Lord demanded.

Will looked at him for a long moment. "I told you before, I've known things for a while. It wasn't until you lot came into my life that they finally began to make sense. I have a part to play in this, and I have no choice but to see it through until the end."

"We all have choices, Will."

"Do we?"

"Always, my friend," he assured the man. Will merely nodded and left the workroom.

The Doctor found him a few hours later, lounging by the pool with the other four. "How is everyone?" he asked, surveying the scene before him. Gwen and Will lay in beach chairs, sunning themselves in the holographic sunshine, as Rhys floated in the pool in an inflatable chair while Jack rested against one wall, letting his body float in the water. Jack and Will seemed to be locked in a staring contest, the Doctor thought.

"Oh, couldn't be better," Gwen chirped. "Just enjoying some fake sun."

"Are you getting a tan?" the Time Lord inquired, much to Rhys' annoyance.

"Oi! That's my wife you're ogling!"

"Rhys!" she hissed.

"Who said he was the only one ogling her?" Jack quipped, winking at his friend and taking a sip of a colorful drink at his side. Rhys splashed water back with his foot, getting a laugh from all but Will.

"Did you want something?" Markham asked.

The Doctor couldn't help notice the sour note in the man's tone. He glanced to Jack, who only shrugged in confusion. "Just thought I'd take some time off and join you lot down here, if that's all right with you?"

"It's your pool. Do what you want."

The sudden tension between their newest associate and host was not lost on the other couple, either. The Doctor shrugged and dropped his robe on another chair before diving into the pool before Jack could comment on his choice of swimwear. The two began taking a few laps, much to Rhys' annoyance, before setting down where Jack had settled, earlier. Meanwhile, Rhys had joined his wife in a poolside chair to get out of the way from their swimming.

After a few minutes, the Doctor prodded. "You know, Will, if you have a problem, you can discuss it with me."

The man remained silent.

The Doctor regarded him for a long moment. Jack gave them both a quizzical look. Gwen and Rhys seemed to have a silent conversation that it was time to return to their quarters and promptly left.

"No one here but us men out of time," Jack now goaded his new friend.

"It's none of your concern, either of you," Will replied, a quiet anger creeping into his voice.

The Doctor wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?"

"I miss my family, alright?" he growled through clenched teeth. "Don't tell me you never left anyone behind in your travels."

The Doctor and Jack gave each other slightly embarrassed looks for pressing what should have been an obvious issue.

"I'm sorry, Will," the Time Lord apologized. "I should have known."

"Should you?" he asked, rising from his chair. He stood sternly over the two men in the pool for a moment then turned to leave. "I'm sorry. I just want this over with."

Jack moved to follow him, but the Doctor grabbed his arm. "No, not now. Give him some time." Jack was tempted to point out the irony in his request, but felt it wiser to stay his tongue this time.

The next few days working on their project were spent in relative silence. The Doctor programmed in the last information and turned to his companion. "Are you ready to test this?"

"You have the coordinates?"

"Yes." He glanced to Will as the man gave a weary sigh. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No," he lied. "Why don't we get some rest and start fresh in the morning?" he suggested. The Doctor reluctantly agreed and let Markham leave. Will didn't head back to his quarters, but to Jack's. He dropped into a chair with a heavy sigh. "Can I be honest with you?"

Jack put down the book he was reading and turned to his friend. "Always."

"I...I don't think I can go through with this, Jack," he admitted.

"With what? What's the problem?"

Will looked to the immortal, tears filling his eyes. "As much as I miss my family, everyone back home...I-I think I'm falling in love with you, Jack. I don't want to leave here."

Jack knelt down in front of his friend. "Will, first off, you knew this was temporary. Secondly, we're going to send you home as soon as we can, then we're leaving ourselves. We'll never see each other again."

Will reached out and put his hand around Jack's neck, pulling him forward. "I don't want to lose you, Jack," he insisted and kissed the man. "I want you. I _need_ you. Now, tonight. Don't let me go." He pulled Jack closer, hugging him tight.

Jack tried to stand up and pull away, but Will's grip was too strong. He finally relented as the man began kissing him all over. Jack returned the affection, allowing himself to be ravished by the burly, bearded man.

The next morning, Will rose from the bed. "I'm sorry, Jack," he mumbled more to himself, knowing Jack couldn't hear him. He rummaged through the man's personal items until he found what he was looking for. He then left Jack's quarters to meet the Doctor in their workshop.

"Feeling better?" the Time Lord inquired upon seeing Markham. He raised an eyebrow at the man's duffel bag.

"Somewhat," he smirked.

"You look tired," he noted. "Didn't you get any rest?"

"Well, Jack and I-"

The Doctor held up his hands. "Stop. I don't want to hear that," he chuckled. "Jack isn't following you, is he?"

"He's a bit tied up at the moment," Will smirked. He let the Doctor assume that his friend was still worn out from the previous night. No sense in telling him the whole truth, especially now. "So, what's the plan?" he inquired, changing the subject.

"We go to Stonehenge, drop the box off, then take you home," the Doctor replied.

"If you say so," Markham replied, nervously shifting his bag.

"Planning on staying?"

"Just some extra tools we might need down there," he lied.

The Doctor grunted, not believing him. "Very well, the spare control room is through here," he motioned to a door on the far side of their workroom. Opening it, he led Markham into a sparse room with an older model control panel in the center. "What were those coordinates again?" he prodded as he began adjusting controls.

Markham fumbled his pockets and brought out his PADD. He was about to read them off to the other man when the central column roared to life. "Nevermind, then, eh?"

The Doctor gave him a displeased look. "Now comes the hard part, dematerializing the TARDIS while leaving the box behind," he informed his friend.

Markham eyed the other door in the room. "Where does that go?" he inquired.

"Hm? Oh, outside," the Doctor answered, absentmindedly as he adjusted the controls.

"Thank you," Will replied as he dashed out the doors.

The Doctor looked up, to realize his error. "Damn it all, anyway!" he chastised himself as he shut the control panel down and gave chase.

Outside the TARDIS, the Doctor found Will Markham by the Pandorica. "What the hell do you think you're doing, man?"

Will ignored him as he pressed a small item to the machine. "What I have to." He slipped it into his pocket and reached into his duffel before approaching a wall. He glanced to his PADD and began writing.

"Those are coordinates," the Doctor noted. "How did you get them? Why do you even have them?"

Markham finished and turned to the man. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I hold you no ill will, but I do what I must to protect my world."

The Doctor was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

Will slung his duffel over his shoulder and pushed up his sleeve to reveal his wrist-comm, only it looked different and vaguely familiar to the Time Lord. He began tapping the controls.

"Wait a minute, is that...Jack's vortex manipulator?"

Markham gave him a sad look. "Tell him I'm sorry," he said as he pressed the final control and disappeared in a flash of light.

"Markham, no!" the Time Lord yelled after the man, knowing it was futile. He had no way of tracking that infernal device. It was part of the reason he disabled it so Jack wouldn't cause too much trouble in the time stream. He had only reactivated it on this trip to accomplish certain tasks and had forgotten to deactivate the time circuits after.

He turned back to the TARDIS. Will had implied that he had done Jack a wrong and feared what had happened to his friend. He entered the man's quarters to find him lifeless and tied spread eagle to the bed. The sheet covered his privates thankfully, and a hood over his head. The Doctor pulled the hood off and saw that a dirty sock had been shoved into Jack's mouth, asphyxiating him. He sighed and pulled it free. The man lay motionless for a few minutes before he began coughing and sputtering, gasping for air.

"You're boyfriend stole your vortex manipulator and ran away into time," he informed the revived Jack.

* * *

Will Markham glanced around at his surroundings. There was really nothing to see other than a sparse forest. He almost had to laugh, as he had physically only moved upward a few feet. Timewise, he had gone back as far as he dared. Now came the hard part.

Will looked to his stolen vortex manipulator and adjusted the controls to search for any hint of technology. The device pinged to the south, somewhere in Wales. Of course, he realized and adjusted the strap to home in on the signal.

Moments later, he was standing over what appeared to be a freshly dug grave. He glanced up to see storm clouds gathering. "Just my luck," he groused and pulled the collapsible spade from the duffel.

Minutes later, the rain began to fall. As Will dug, the rain came down harder, becoming so heavy he was forced to run for cover in the tree line. After an hour, he realized the rain was causing the low valley to start flooding. He decided to jump forward a day, but nearly drowned had he not clung to the tree he had sought shelter under before he jumped. He nearly lost the duffel as well, as the flood waters threatened to overtake him.

He struggled to reach the vortex manipulator and hit the recall button. The flood waters disappeared as he jumped back to the Glastonbury plain. He collapsed as a group of hooded beings surrounded him.

Will Markham woke in a darkened stone room. A candle flickered nearby. His clothes had been replaced by a rough-hewn robe.

"Who are you?" came a voice in the dark.

Will recognized it as one that had become recently very familiar to him. "Hello, Jack."

The figure leaned forward into the candlelight. "Are you a Time Agent?"

Markham laughed. "I'm sorry, Jack. You don't know me yet."

"Definitely a time traveller, then."

Will smirked. "Let's say we have a friend in common. Big, red hair, full of himself?"

"I don't think I've seen him with, uh, red hair, you say?"

Will cursed himself at the slip. He had gotten used to the Doctor's current appearance that he forgot the way he looked when they first met. He "Yes, eventually. He still has that blue box, though."

Jack eyed him warily. "You arrived alone, soaking wet, I didn't see the Doctor or his TARDIS," Jack replied. "You have a vortex manipulator, which only Time Agents are allowed to use." He held up the wrist strap. "But if you're not a Time Agent-?"

"That's yours, Jack," he admitted. "I got it from you."

"The Doctor sent you?" he asked excitedly. "Is he coming for me?"

"No."

Jack stroked the strap fondly. "When are you from? Are you here to rescue me?"

Markham stayed silent for a long moment. "I've already missed my opportunity, it seems. If you're here and awake, I can't free you from being buried alive and take you to where you were supposed to be."

"How do you know me?"

Silence. Will felt chilled and felt his forehead for a temperature. He wondered if he could catch pneumonia from the floodwaters before coming here, to this dark, cool cavern.

"Who are you?"

Will coughed before answering. "Someone who doesn't want to lose everything."

"Stop avoiding my questions."

"Where am I?"

"Glastonbury. We're in a ceremonial chamber beneath what will one day be known as Stonehenge."

Markham looked around, trying to see the walls in the darkness. "Is it here, yet?"

"Is what here? The stones?" he asked, pointing up. "We're actually building them now."

"No, not them. I'm still too early," he said more to himself than Jack. "Has it been here yet?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about?"

"The Silver Knight? Has it come yet?"

Jack eyed him warily. "Silver Knight? I don't think this civilization has progressed even close to that point, yet."

"I don't know where it came from, but-"

Screams came from above. The two time travelers eyed each other and ran for the staircase. What greeted them was a legend for one, and a nightmare for the other.

A Cyberman stalked amongst the robed workers on the Glastonbury plain.

"This shouldn't be happening," Jack exclaimed. "Not here, not for centuries!"

"Where's my duffel?" Will demanded.

"You have weapons?"

Will smiled. "Time to make some history, lad."

Jack ran back down the stairs. "As long as we don't break it!"

He quickly retrieved the man's bag and handed it off. Will opened it and withdrew a gilded sword.

Jack looked at in shock. "Is that what I think it is?"

Will smiled again. "_Caledfwlch_." He grabbed Jack around the neck and kissed him then ran back up the stairs. Jack stared after him in shock before giving chase.

Once more arriving on the field of Glastonbury, Will pointed the blade at the intruder. "Begone from these lands, Sliver Knight!" he exclaimed.

The Cyberman turned and faced him, raising his gun arm to fire. Will deflected the shot with ease.

"You will be assimilated!" it declared. "The Cybermen will rule this planet!"

"Like Hades, you will!" Markham exclaimed and swung at the cyborg.

The pair dueled for several minutes before Will found his opening and thrust the sword into the chest of the Cyberman.

Jack had found a large stone and crushed the head of the Cyberman as it stumbled back, the gold infecting it's systems, already.

Will dropped to his knees, exhausted from the fight. He found it hard to catch his breath, and began coughing again. _Not here, not now!_ he thought to himself.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, as he held out his hand to the savior of the day.

Will forced a nod, and let Jack pull him back to his feet. "I can't stay here, Jack."

"Neither of us belong here, my friend," he agreed, handing back the sword he had pulled from the invader's chest. "But we can't leave now. The people you just saved will want to throw you a celebration in gratitude. Besides, you haven't even told me your name."

Will looked around at the nervous villagers who were slowly returning now that the Silver Knight had been defeated. "I can't Jack, I've already messed up too much. I can't stay."

Jack handed him the strap. "You're going to give this back to me, right?"

"The next time I see you, Jack, I promise," he lied. He headed back down to the Underhenge cavern for his duffel.

Jack followed and pulled him close. "Tell me your name, at least."

"I can't, I'm sorry," he repeated as he grabbed his bag and clothing.

"When will I see you again?"

"I've got to go back, prevent this from ever happening. I'm sorry, Jack."

"Well then, I guess this is goodbye?"

Will pulled him close and kissed him again. "Georges," he whispered in Jack's ear and disappeared.

Jack smiled. He had enough clues to know this man wouldn't be around until the 20th Century, at least. The odd part was his mention of 'like Hades' instead of 'like Hell', but he knew some Britons still used 'by Jove' before the turn of the Third Millennium, so was it that unusual? But still, the man knew the Doctor, yet the Time Lord apparently refused to rescue Jack from this time. Why was that, he wondered?

He went back upstairs to rejoin his friends in this era. They celebrated the victory over the 'Silver Knight' for several days. Jack quickly realized a new legend was being made. One that would have dark overtones, as the villagers soon began getting sick. Most of the women were affected, and Jack was at a loss to explain it. He surmised that the Cyberman had somehow been infected or spread a virus in case of defeat. In the years that followed, Jack came to realize whatever illness began that day, it grew into a plague that affected this whole world.

The repercussions of this plague began affecting history. Jack grew angry at the apparent refusal of the Time Lord he once called friend to rescue him. Realizing the damage had already been done, he began manipulating events. Cause enough damage to the time stream, and the Doctor will surely come running to correct it, he surmised.

He was wrong. Outside of the lone Cyberman in Glastonbury, none of the usual alien races made contact with this planet that Jack could tell. Even the Silurians stayed dormant deep within the bowels of the Earth. As a precaution, he fashioned a crude transmitter from the Cyberman's wiring, including a one-way teleportation circuit to the moon. He hoped it would keep out any unwanted invasions, especially as he used the threat of the Shadow Proclamation for those who did try to land on this tiny blue world.

Deciding that he was now trapped and doomed to live almost the entirety of Earth's history, Jack began radically altering things as he saw fit. He quite enjoyed the extravagant (and hedonistic) lifestyle of Greece and later, Rome, so he kept their Pantheons and religious beliefs over the growing threat of monotheism. That's when he remembered that the rise of so-called "Christianity" was responsible for more than their fare share of wars and massive conflict over the centuries. He spent a decade searching for the so-called Messiah. The young man fated to create a new branch of religion. He tried to explain to the young man of Nazareth what his endeavours would result in, but the man refused to believe his message of peace would become so twisted. Jack did what he had to. As a result, his favored Greco-Roman Pantheology stayed in favor.

Upon a later return to the British Isles, he found an unexpected gift lodged in one of the Glastonbury stones: _Caledfwlch_. According to the locals, it had simply appeared one summer Solstice morning. When Jack tried to remove it, it held fast. He realized one of the gems adorning the hilt was a phase modulator, tuned to a specific DNA pattern. Obviously, his mysterious friend had a plan and it didn't involve Jack playing king.

When the time came, he mentored the young Pendragon heir, Uther, assuming the mantle of Myrddin (or Merlin) in order to train the King's son, later known as Arthur. He wasn't surprised to learn that the Pendragon line was allowed to remove the sword. Obviously the line survived into the turn of the Third Millennium, and that "Georges" was related, somehow.

When Arthur died in battle, Jack reluctantly allowed the sword to be returned to Glastonbury. Successors to the throne of Albion would all attempt to pull the sword free, but few possessed the ability. Even sovereigns of distant lands made a pilgrimage in an attempt to pull the sword free. On the rare occasion they did, Jack was there to prevent them from absconding with the blade, ensuring it remained where the mysterious "Georges" had left it in an attempt to draw him out, once more.

He waited in vain.

* * *

Will Markham had jumped forward several centuries after leaving Jack. Arriving at Stonehenge at night, he felt no need to keep the sword with him and drove it into the pedestal stone he remembered it had been embedded in most of his life. He had no idea it was the early hours of the Summer Solstice, as he left immediately.

His next jump took him home. He quietly bypassed the familiar security protocols and raided the castle's medical wing pharmacy for a few items to contain his fever and cough from making him sicker. He had no idea he was now responsible for the recurring plague that had left an unbalanced population of a slight majority for men, and minority of women who were all evenly just as likely to be sterile. Although, this later sterility didn't become a factor until the mid-nineteenth century, when his germs mutated the virus causing the population imbalance upon visiting 1851 with the Doctor in their attempt to save Jackson Lake from the elder Jack posing as "Gerald Crichton."

While getting his medications, Will was tempted to visit his family before returning to the task at hand. He decided against it, thinking they would be better off not knowing he was there.

Once again, he was wrong. In his rush, he forget about the security cameras recording his arrival and theft in sickbay. A young intern named Rory would show the footage to the Regent. Charles ordered Rory's silence on the matter before reluctantly destroying it.

Will left to return to Jack's grave once more, a full week before his previous attempt. After several hours, he uncovered the dirt-choked form of his latest lover. It took Jack almost an hour to revive, and Will soon realized his mistake in allowing that to happen.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, handsome," he greeted the coughing Time Agent.

Jack spit out another bit of dirt and focused his bleary eyes on his bearded rescuer. "Do I know you?"

Will laughed. "Déjà vu all over again. Yes and no," he replied. "Hurry up and get out of that hole before we run into my past self," he urged, holding out a hand to Jack.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"This isn't my first attempt at rescuing you, and we have to make it look like you've just been buried, Jack."

"Who are you?"

"A friend. A very good friend," he winked.

"Whom I haven't met, quite yet?" Jack inquired.

"And if we do this right, you never will."

Jack gave him a leery look as he helped him out of the grave. "Time traveler?"

"We have a friend in common, but if I describe him to you, you won't recognize him," Will explained.

"Let me guess, he travels in a blue box that's bigger on the inside, and usually in the company of a pretty lady?"

Will gave an unsure shrug. "Well, when we met, you and another couple were with him. I really don't think I should go into more detail than that."

"But you and I became friends enough that you came back into the past for me?"

Will gave a heavy sigh. "You weren't meant to be buried here and now, Jack," he explained. "The proper time for you to be buried is far in the future. I have to put things right, even if- no, never mind."

Jack eyed him warily. "You're saying Gray overshot his intended time period to punish me?"

Will nodded. "My first attempt, I come too late. There's a mighty big storm blowing in, soon. I wasn't able to finish the job and the flood freed you, changing history more than you want to know."

"Surely I wouldn't damage the time stream that much-?"

"Jack, I only came back to correct time to help you. You have no idea what I'm giving up by doing this," he pleaded.

Jack remained silent for a minute. The desperation in the other man's voice meant that he was giving up far more than he could bear. "Alright then, let's get out of here."

Will nodded and adjusted the controls on the vortex manipulator, he grabbed Jack's hand as he hit the button, sending them forward in time.

Jack looked around in confusion. "When are we?"

"A few millennia later than we were." He pulled out the spade again.

He looked at Will in horror. "You're going to bury me alive again, aren't you?"

Will dug into the ground. "I'm sorry, Jack. Your timeline must be preserved."

Jack caught the usage of 'your' over 'the' and hung his head. "Can you at least tell me, what are you giving up back home?"

"Everything," Will said quietly. "My family. My friends. My king." He looked Jack in the eye. "You knew some of them, it turns out. Martha, Ianto...and my wife."

"Was it Gwen?" he asked solemnly.

Will paused. "No. Toshiko."

Jack smiled. "Smart girl. Brave, too."

"I know what happened, Jack. Not the details, but- make sure she's happy when you get back there. Your other friends never knew me, but, please, make sure she lives a happy life. She deserves it."

Jack smiled. "I'll do my best."

The pair worked in silence, Jack insisting on doing most of the digging now, as Will would have to bury him later. When they decided the grave was deep enough, they paused before continuing.

"Just so you know, I'll bear you no hard feelings about this," Jack insisted.

"Don't worry, you'll see me soon enough," Will informed him then kissed him. What he did next took Jack by surprise. Still holding his head from the kiss, Will used his mental push to make Jack forget everything since he was unburied. "I need you to forget this, Jack. You can't remember me." The shock knocked Jack out and Will doubled his efforts to bury the man once more.

Once done, he hit the recall button and jumped back to the older burial site. They had left in such a hurry, he had forgotten to fill it back in. If his plan failed, then he had to leave things as they were for his past-self to find as they were, just in case. Once finished, he punched in the coordinates for Glastonbury once more. He found an empty plain.

Surveying the land, his mind's eye filled in the missing formations, not to mention the celebrations he had taken part in, as well as the time he saved his friends' lives. His heart ached, knowing he would likely never see them again. He pulled out his PADD and copied the coordinates into the wristband one last time.

The jolt he felt turned him inside out. He could feel time turning in on itself all around him before he blacked out. He woke up laying on the altar stone of Stonehenge. Curious onlookers snapped his picture, thinking he was some sort of performer, although the scattered alarm on some suggested they saw him materialize out of thin air. He noticed they did wear fashions similar to his own time, but the cameras were woefully out of date.

"W-where am I?" he asked them. "The date? What's the date?"

The small crowd became more alarmed and he saw a couple pull out small devices and speak into them. He vaguely wondered if they were the 'mobile phones' the Doctor's companions had mentioned having as opposed to his world's wrist-comms.

He decide it was best not to alarm the crowd and disappear again. He made up a story about having been left behind after a party and asked for a ride back to the nearest town. He wasn't sure when or where he was, but he knew it was time to start over.

* * *

"So what are you going to do?" Jack protested. "Just leave him out there?"

"He disappeared with your vortex manipulator, Jack, I have no way of tracking him!" the Doctor angrily informed his friend as he began making preparations to leave. "He lied and betrayed our trust, Jack. Or don't you remember he basically killed you and stole your strap?"

"Like that's the first time I've died during sex!" Jack exclaimed. "You really think he planned all this?"

The burly ginger gave his friend a dark look. "Yes."

"Why? What do you think he's going to do?"

"I have no idea, Jack. Did he tell you anything?"

"Only that he was homesick and-"

"Yes?"

"He said he was falling in love with me."

"And you fell for it like some giddy schoolgirl."

Jack had no rebuttal, realizing Markham had used him.

The Doctor flipped a switch and the control console roared to life. "I'm taking you lot home before that fool messes up the timelines even further."

Jack glared at him, then realized something. "You know, he knew that his timeline wasn't meant to be. What if he went back to try and fix things? What if that was why he was so homesick, because he knew he was giving up his world, his family, just so we could go home?"

The Doctor eyed him from across the console. "All the more reason to leave before he changes anything." He pulled a lever and the TARDIS shuddered. "Here goes nothing! Hang on!"

The craft rocked hard. Small explosions could be heard around the control room and deep within the machine.

"She's fighting it!" Jack argued, flipping the inner stabilizers to no avail.

"Come on, girl, you can do it!" The Doctor coaxed. "Find your way home!"

Caught in their quarters, Gwen and Rhys huddled under the heavy bed, hoping they wouldn't be crushed by flying debris.

"He's taking us home, isn't he?" Rhys asked his wife.

"How should I bloody know?" she shot back.

After a few minutes, the craft lurched and settled.

"Is that it? Are we back home?"

"Only one way to find out," she told him, tossing his pants at him before heading out the door for the control room. "Where are we now?" she demanded, bursting out onto the upper level of the main room, Rhys close behind.

The Doctor switched the view screen on. What appeared to be modern London lay outside. He looked to Jack.

"You think we're home?"

The Doctor shrugged and pointed to the couple. "You two stay here. Jack and I will check things out," he ordered and strode towards the doors. Outside, he looked around, getting his bearings.

"Newspaper?" Jack suggested.

The Doctor nodded and Jack spied one in a nearby trash bin. "Looks like the same old London we left, but we're a week later than when we originally left."

"Close enough?" the Doctor offered.

"What do you think happened to Markham?" Jack asked. "Do you think he managed to fix things in his world or-?"

"Will Markham made his own fate, Jack. If I never see him again, it will be too soon."

"What about my vortex manipulator?"

"You're better off without it, Jack," he noted and turned back to the TARDIS before the immortal could protest.

Inside, he found Gwen and Rhys had come down and were watching the outside crowd through the monitor. "Well?" she asked.

"It appears we made it home. Where do you want me to drop you lot off?"

"Cardiff," they both replied before she continued. "It's been too long since we've seen our baby, if you don't mind."

"As you wish," he replied, noting Jack re-entering the craft. As soon as he closed the door, he punched in the coordinates and the console groaned to life once more.

Moments later, they arrived in Wales at the Roald Dahl Plass, where the former Torchwood Hub had been located. Reconstruction of the Plass was nearly complete, thanks in part to a mysterious benefactor. (Although Jack would never admit it.)

"Is this good enough?" the Doctor asked the trio.

"Oh yes, thanks," Gwen replied. "I'm sure we can get a cab from here."

"Let me pay for it," Jack insisted.

"Oh, you'd better!" Rhys teased before turning to their host. "Thanks, I guess, for a wild trip. I hope we never do that again!" he laughed.

"You're welcome, and be sure to take care of Gwen and the kids, will you?" he said, shaking the man's hand.

"Wait, what? _Kids_?" he started to ask as Gwen began dragging him away, having cab fare from Jack and thanking the Doctor again.

"I'll catch up with you guys, later!" Jack laughed.

"And what about you, Jack?" the Time Lord inquired. "Are you coming with me, or-?"

"Do you want me?" he smirked.

"Don't start," he chided his friend. After an awkward silence, both laughed. "Get the hell out of my ship, Harkness," he ordered.

Jack approached, arms open. "You know you're going to miss me."

The Doctor sighed and let Jack hug him. "I also know you've got to keep an eye on things here," he chuckled.

"You keep yourself out of trouble, you hear me?" Jack ordered his friend. "No more regenerations for a long while, understand?"

"I'll try not to, Jack," he chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder as he ushered him out the door. "I'll see you, sooner or later."

Jack stumbled out onto the street. "Sooner. It's a promise!"

The Doctor gave a weary sigh and shut the door behind him. He glanced to the monitor to see Jack surveying the Plass with a sad expression. No doubt mourning the loss of his former headquarters as well as the friends he lost along the way. He felt sorry for the man, knowing it never gets easier saying goodbye to those you leave behind. He shut off the monitor and turned back to his control panel.

Outside, Jack stood saying a silent goodbye to Ianto, once more. He didn't notice the man in the trench coat sidle up to him until it was almost too late.

"I think you dropped something, Jack."

Harkness turned to see the man holding out a gift box.

"I thought you'd like it back. Sorry for stealing it from you," Will apologized.

"What? How did you?" Jack stammered, opening the box and seeing his leather strap.

"Damn Hades if I know," he replied, smiling.

"How long have you been here?"

"A few years. Worked odd jobs, orienting myself to this world, but I think it's time to move on, don't you?" He didn't want to mention the night he tried to pick up this world's Toshiko in a bar, only to be rebuffed.

Jack hooked a thumb towards the blue police box on the edge of the Plass. "You might want to go apologize to him before he leaves."

Markham nodded. "I will. I just wanted to return that and say I was sorry for what I did to you." He pulled the man into a kiss then turned away. "Take care of yourself, Jack," he said as he began marching toward the TARDIS.

As he drew closer, he hesitated before knocking. "Anyone home? It's an emergency!" he called out.

The Doctor opened the door, expecting Jack or Rhys had forgotten something, but was surprised to see Markham standing there. "What do you want?" he asked, gruffly.

"Don't you know this is a 'No Parking Zone'?" he asked.

"No. Whatever it is, the answer is no. N-O, No."

"Oh come on, I just came to apologize," he said. "Besides, I'm a man out of time, you're a man out of time, we're a perfect match!"

"Go play house with Jack if you want, you're not setting foot in here, again!" he said and slammed the door.

Will turned and saw Jack watching from across the Plass. "I'm sorry, alright?" he shouted. "I'm sorry I deceived you, but I had to try and fix things!"

The door flew open. "You betrayed my trust. No one does that and gets a second chance."

"I sacrificed my entire world to make sure you could get those three home again," Will countered. "Surely, that counts for something?"

The Doctor fumed. That's when he noticed Jack watching as well. He held up his arm and made a show of putting on his vortex manipulator. He then gave the Time Lord a thumbs up.

"You gave Jack his toy back?"

Will shrugged. "Time circuits burnt out when I shifted over to this world. You'd probably have a better idea why than I do."

The Doctor eyed him a moment, then turned away, heading back to the control panel. Will glanced to Jack, who motioned him to go in. Will waved goodbye to his friend and lover and followed the Time Lord.

"You do as I say and the first hint I get of you trying to double-cross me or anyone, and you can walk back home," the Doctor informed him as he adjusted the controls.

"Can I just ask one thing?" Will inquired as the column in the console ground to life.

The Time Lord gave him his best evil eye. "What?"

Will flipped a switch, the grinding noise disappeared. "Can you please leave the parking brake off?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and hit the switch again. "No."

* * *

To Be Continued...


	17. Downtime  alternate ending

Doctor Who: ALBION

Chapter 16 - Departure: alternate ending

Disclaimer - I don't own nothing or nobody you know/recognize. Doctor Who is intellectual property of the BBC, afaik.

Characters: Doctor, Capt. Jack, Gwen, Rhys, alt-Lake, OCs

* * *

A/N: This is basically what I wanted to end Will Markham's story with, but then realized I needed him for the next arc since I place this story between "Last of the Time Lords" and "Eleventh Hour" (again, having written most of the previous 10 chapters BEFORE seeing any of Smith's run!) as well as between the "CoE" and "BNW/Miracle Day" (which has yet to air. Kai just tweeted something about shooting scenes with just him and the baby) seasons of Torchwood, so I couldn't keep Jack on as a companion. This Doctor is definitely Smith, since his second season is supposed to start soon. And, yes, I figure they are going to explain pretty early how/why Jack is back on Earth and how things didn't work out between him and Alonso Frame.

Anywho, picking up where I split this off from: Markham has done his time traveling "repairs" and has just returned to the present. Copied the first two sentences from ch16, then everything else is the "original" plan for his ending.

* * *

The jolt Will felt turned him inside out. He could feel time turning in on itself all around him before he blacked out. He woke up laying on familiar ground. The hunting preserve on the castle grounds.

He forced himself to rise. He had no idea the time, his own wrist-comm having been left in the past, but he had to take that chance. His last chance to save everything. He forced himself to run to where he had left this time before, where he hoped the TARDIS would be.

Upon reaching the clearing, he found it empty. He fell to his knees in agony. Had he arrived too early, or worse: too late?

He didn't have long to ponder this as a noise broke the silence. It sounded as if the universe was grinding to a halt. Will forced himself back to his feet and watched in amazement as the blue Police Box materialized before him.

He shouted in joy and ran to the doors, pounding on them. "Doctor! Let me in! Doctor! Jack!"

The door suddenly swung open and a scrawny man with wild hair stood before him. He gave Will a once over then asked, "Yes? Can I help you?"

Will was momentarily stunned by his appearance, having gotten used to the burly ginger he'd worked closely with these last few weeks. "You? It's really you, isn't it?" he fumbled.

"Yes, and you are?" he inquired as Jack strode up behind his friend.

"Jack!" Will exclaimed in his excitement to see a familiar face. "My gods, it's good to see you!"

Jack and the Doctor gave him puzzled looks. "Can we help you, mister-?"

"What? Oh, right, you don't know me yet!" he stammered. "And that's why I'm here. You can't leave the TARDIS! You'll put yourselves in danger, and I can't allow you to help this time."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Jack's face remained puzzled.

"This is one of those paradox things, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, timey-wimey, wibbley-wobbley. I can't let you put them in danger, Jack," he insisted.

"And why not?" the Doctor inquired.

"You always wanted to be ginger, right?" The Doctor gave a cautious nod. "You step out of the TARDIS and in less than an hour, you are," he warned, then turned to Jack. He realized this would now have to take some emotional twisting. "I can't let you lot go gallivanting around, out here. Especially when Gwen- well, I can't spoil it for you, but she's in as much danger as this annoying ginger sack of-"

"Annoying?" the Time Lord repeated in disgust, then turned to Jack. "Am I really annoying?"

Jack hesitated to answer him, so turned back to Will. "You said you're in trouble. We can help. We-"

Will grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward. "I'm sorry, Jack. I can't let you." He kissed the man, then, having lifted Jack's pistol, pushed him back and shot him.

Will heard Gwen scream from inside. He turned to the Doctor with a guilty look on his face. "Tell him I'm sorry, but I know he'll be fine in a few. What else do I have to do to convince you to leave?"

"You hurt my friend," the Doctor stated, matter of factly.

"He was my friend, too, Doctor, once upon a time," Will informed the Time Lord. "Please, I am begging you, leave here and don't look back. This isn't your world, and I've done as much as I can to correct the mistakes of the past." He looked down at Gwen cradling Jack. Rhys tried to block the pair from the maniac at the door. "Tell him I'm sorry, but after what Gray did to him? It was more than he realized."

"Gray?" Gwen asked in confusion. "How do you know Gray?"

"I'm sorry, Gwen. I never met him, but I do know what he did to Jack. I may have rectified it, but you have to leave now, so I can make sure. This is not your world, it's mine, and in correcting Gray's mistake, I may have doomed this world."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Please, you have to leave," he begged again. "Just know I am doing this for all of you, and especially Tosh. Tell her I always loved her and our boys."

"Tosh? What-?"

"Doctor, if you don't leave right this moment, I'll force you to," he warned again. "I don't have much time to finish what I need to do, but I can't have you interfering again."

The Time Lord looked into his pleading eyes. "Do what you have to do, then."

Will leaned forward and whispered, "Good Luck, Time Lord. May I never see you again." He then whispered two more words in his ear.

The Doctor pulled back, dumbfounded. "How did you-? No, I don't want to know. Yes, we're leaving. Good luck in your task, whoever you are."

"I was a friend to you, once," he replied, then looked to Jack. "And more to others."

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and Will soon heard the grinding again as the blue box disappeared. He looked down to the pistol in his hand. "Gods save me, that I may save my king," he said and ran into the forest.

No sooner had he entered the royal forest than he heard a shot ring out. He cried "no" under his breath as he ran. He wasn't sure of Prince Will's exact location, but he soon found him struggling with two men with bayonets. Neither man saw him as he drew a bead.

William's attacker stopped as the shot rang out and his partner dropped dead. Both men looked to see the crimson beginning to pour from the hole in his head. The attacker barely had time to register what happened before he shared the same fate.

Will approached his student and liege. "Will! Are you alright?" he asked.

"A little roughed up, but otherwise, I'm fine," he replied, helping Markham push the body off of him and stand. "Where did you come from? Where's Jackson?"

"Shit! I almost forgot about him!" he scolded himself. "Come on!" he said and began running to where he remembered he literally ran into the Doctor the first time.

The pair stopped short as they met up with his younger self and Jackson Lake. Astonished shouts of confusion erupted from the other three as Markham faced his younger self.

"Will? What's going on here?" Prince William demanded as the man who saved him drew his pistol on the head of Torchwood Royal.

"Long story short? Time travel," he replied. "I know it's confusing, timey-wimey, paradox, et cetera, but if you've ever had reason to trust me, now is the time."

"Who are you?" the younger Markham asked.

"Will, stop dicking around with Jackson and get over here," he ordered. He found it odd to address himself, but he had no choice. He hoped his younger self would get the reference to what he had just been doing.

The younger Will gave Jackson an embarrassed look, but did as he was told, preferring to get closer to the prince just in case this was a trap. "No, seriously, who are you?"

"I'm you, Will, or will be, just a few weeks older," he explained. "The thing is, I know what's really going on here. Right, Jackson?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he protested.

"The sad thing is, you probably don't. That makes what I have to do even harder," he said and aimed for his one-time superior, friend, and lover. "I am so sorry, Jackson, but it must be done."

"NO!" the younger Markham shouted and tackled his elder self. The pair fell to the ground, and began writhing in pain from the contact. They both felt the temporal energy surge course through both their bodies, their shared memories mixing, and the younger learning what his elder self had been through in the next few weeks.

The pair finally fell apart, exhausted and spent from the encounter. William quickly knelt down and grabbed the pistol from where the elder Will had dropped it.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the man who had saved him.

"Will," he gasped, too exhausted to move. "William Campbell Markham. Married to Toshiko Sato, father of-"

"Anyone could know that," Jackson declared. "We're all public figures, it's common knowledge."

The younger Markham rolled over, trying to force himself to rise. "Jacks, shut the fuck up. I know what you are, now."

"What are you talking about?" Lake asked. "I have nothing to hide from anyone, least of all my prince," he boasted.

William backed away from the pair on the ground as well as Jackson. "I have no idea what's going on here, but as soon as my father gets back, we're all going to sit down and straighten this out," he declared.

"You can't!" the younger Markham declared. "As soon as he arrives here, he's taken into custody by Greaves' agents in Torchwood! We have to warn him!"

"How do you know this?" William demanded.

He pointed to his older self. "I saw it. He's already lived it. Greaves is going to try and kill you both before the Coronation."

"Impossible!" Lake scoffed.

"You're a fucking liar and traitor, Jackson," the elder Markham exclaimed, finally forcing himself to sit up. "I'm sorry, but you don't even know what you're doing, but you _are_ working for Greaves."

"You're deluded, whoever you are!" he retorted.

"Oh, Jackson, you have no idea, do you?" he asked. "You first met me a hundred and fifty years ago. Right after your house blew up. We saved Frederic and you took in my great-grandparents. Don't you remember?"

Lake laughed. "You're implying I'm nearly two hundred years old? You are insane!"

"It's Greaves. He's immortal," he explained. "Somehow, he's managed to keep you alive and somewhat young all this time. He's also made you his spy."

"You, sir, are the liar and-"

"Shut up, Lake," William interrupted. He eyed the elder Markham for a moment.

"I would never lie to you, Will," he pleaded. "Not to you or Charles. You're my family as much as Tosh and the boys."

"How did you come to be here?" William asked.

Markham pulled back his sleeve. "Vortex Manipulator. It allows the wearer to travel in time. I kinda borrowed it from a friend. Greaves had one, too. Again, long story."

William held his gaze for a moment, then glanced to the younger Markham.

"Prince William, surely you can not believe these tall tales and lies this imposter is spewing?" Lake protested.

William turned to Lake and threw him the gun. "Then do what you will, Jackson. Are you with us or not?"

Lake paused, then pointed the gun at the elder Markham. "You, sir, are a traitor to the Crown and have been caught in an act of treason. There is but one penalty for that."

"I'll not die sitting in a forest on my ass. At least give me the dignity of dieing on my feet," Will demanded.

Lake rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll give you a moment to stand before I carry out your sentence."

Will struggled to rise in his exhaustion, and waved off his younger self's offer of help to rise, but took William's hand as he regained his footing.

"Thank you, my liege, for giving me the opportunity to serve you and your father," he said before turning and facing Lake for what would be his last time. "I loved you, too, Jackson. I'm sorry it had to end this way."

"I don't know who you think you are, but to me, you are nothing but a traitor. Farewell." He pointed and pulled the trigger.

In that moment, the elder Will spun and tackled William to the ground as his younger self tackled a confused Lake, who wondered why the pistol didn't fire.

"Do you have him?" the elder Markham asked his younger self.

"I've got him pinned!" he replied.

"What are you doing?" William demanded from under his mentor's protective cover.

"Making sure you believed me, Little Prince," he whispered.

"I gave him the damned gun, what else do I have to do to prove I believe you, Will?" the prince exclaimed, shoving his guardian away.

Markham helped William to his feet. "Call your father, immediately. Let him know what's going on. Have the royal guard on alert, and arrest Greaves."

"What about you?" William asked. "What happens to you, now?"

Markham glanced to his younger self, who was twisting Lake's arm behind his back in submission against a tree. "I have no fucking idea."

* * *

In the day that followed, a number of royal guards loyal to Greaves were arrested, as was Greaves himself. The younger Markham attended the Coronation, while the elder kept watch over Greaves in the castle dungeon.

"You know, I hear you've already been through this before," Will informed the captive immortal. "Thing is, I didn't get to sit in on the original interrogation."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Greaves spat.

"Listen, I know who you really are, Jack. Just tell me the code that will free Jackson from your control."

Greaves laughed. "Jack? Who's Jack?"

"You are the man once known as Jack Harkness, Gerald Crichton, and likely thousands of other aliases over the centuries. I don't really care about that. I just want the code that will free Lake."

"You really are deluded," Greaves laughed.

Will sighed then pulled up his sleeve. "Do you remember this?"

Greaves eyed the strap for a long moment, then his eyes went wide. "W-where did you-?"

"I got it from you," he replied. "Or rather, a past you. One who I once called friend."

"Liar. You're a Time Agent aren't you?"

"Is that what you were, before?" he asked. "We really didn't get to know each other that well. Well, that actually depends on the definition of 'know', isn't it?" he chuckled.

"You seduced me and stole that?"

"I think it was more a mutual seduction," he replied, "and I only intended to borrow this. As far as I'm concerned, it's useless to me, now."

Greaves eyed Markham warily a long moment. "What are you going to do to me?"

"How do you kill an immortal man?" Will asked. "My Charles told me what they did to you, before. Pretty gruesome, if you ask me, what with all the beheading and chopping and burying parts."

Greaves' face blanched. "you-you can't be serious?"

"He locked your head-well, the halves of your head, at any rate-inside the ultimate prison. The Doctor and I built it ourselves, then dropped it off in the past. Self-fulfilling prophecy or paradox or whatever."

"Liar. You don't know the real Doctor. He would never do such a thing."

"He would and we did. Took us a couple weeks to build it, at any rate. As I'm sure you already know, that TARDIS is stocked with everything you could ever want or need."

"Liar. You've never been inside the TARDIS."

"Well, not the Library, especially after what Gwen did-you remember her, don't you?-but the pool was pretty relaxing after a long day of building," he explained. "Well, as much as you can define a 'day' inside that place."

Greaves kept his silence.

"What's the code, Jack?"

Five minutes later, Will entered Lake's cell.

"What do you want?" Lake sneered.

Will held out a recorder. "I have something you need to hear," he said and pressed play. Will didn't understand a word of what Jack/Greaves/Crichton had said, but he hoped it would free his friend.

Jackson Lake seized up and fell back on his cell bed. Will rushed to his side. "Jackson? Jacks? Are you okay?"

Lake seemed disoriented. He looked around, trying to get his bearings and focused on the bearded man hovering over him. "Do I-do I know you? You look so familiar?"

Will held his hand. "Just relax. You've had a rather rough time of it," he cooed then kissed the hand he was holding. "Welcome back, Jackson."

"You were at the orphanage, weren't you?" Lake asked.

"Yes, but that was so long ago. I'm surprised you remember it."

"The children! What about the children?"

"They're all grown up and- well, it's too soon for such details. Get some rest and we'll talk more, later."

Will rose and opened the cell door to leave.

"Wait!" Lake called after him. Will stopped and looked back. "Thank you...I think?"

Will smiled. "You're welcome, my friend."

* * *

When the Royal Entourage returned to the castle after the Coronation, Charles requested both Wills to his office.

"What the fuck are we going to do with _two_ of you?" he asked, fighting a smirk as he sat on the edge of his desk.

"Well, we already know that us touching is bad," the younger Will noted. The trio stifled a round of laughter at that.

"On the other hand, Tosh will never get any rest with two of us!" the elder Will declared, still chuckling.

"How far are we talking, here?" Charles asked, also chuckling.

The Wills were tempted to note their actual distance from each other, but Charles' face went serious for a moment.

"Well, strictly speaking, I left tomorrow, spent a few weeks out of time, then a few more days popping in and out of history as we know it, so...?"

"So you're still our Will, just _not_, anymore, right?"

"Not since I popped back in yesterday, no."

"And after blowing Geoff's plans up in his face and reuniting my family, you have no idea what comes next?"

"Sorry, Charles, I don't."

"Well...I can at least thank you for giving me my son back, even if he does need therapy now. A lot of therapy," he said, rising and approaching the elder Will for a hug.

"Hey now, I helped convince your son he was genuine!" the younger Will protested.

Charles laughed and reached for the other man. "So you did, so you did!" He pulled the pair in for a group hug. "Don't go getting any ideas, you two," he chided, still laughing.

"Aw, we love you too, Champ!" the two Wills laughed it off and proceeded to kiss a squirming Charles at the same time on each cheek, hugging each other tight as they did so.

They immediately realized their mistake as the chronal energy outburst blew the trio apart.

When Charles came to, he found himself against the wall of the room. One Will lay unmoving in the spot they had been standing moments before.

"Will? Are you okay?" he asked, gingerly moving towards his friend.

Will Markham groaned and turned his head towards the Regent. "Charles? What happened?"

"You tell me, buddy," he groaned, glancing about the room. "One second, you two are hugging me. The next? We're a man down, it seems?"

Will forced himself to rise, fighting his aching body with every movement. "W-where-?"

"Bigger question: Which Will are you? What do you remember?"

Will Markham looked at his friend and cousin with a hint of fear. "Everything. I remember working with Jack and the Doctor, traveling in time, and also everything from both perspectives when I saved Will from his attack."

"So what does that mean? The two of you have become one person now, or...?"

"I have no idea?"

* * *

The End...?

* * *

A/N: Ok, I kind of meandered a bit, and I could trim down the TARDIS argument and whatnot after. Kinda left the end open, as this timeline is now closed, as far as I'm concerned.

This could flow right into the actual end I wrote, seeing as how Markham woke up at Stonehenge and winds up becoming the Doctor's new companion. Or not. I only kept Will on as "Miracle Day" is coming and Jack and Gwen need to be back home for that in canon, and I need a companion for the next arc. Can he survive that arc? Time will tell...

* * *

Next: Barcelona


End file.
